SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures rebounded on Monday, breaking a two-session losing streak as policy support headlines from China and fresh supply disruptions fueled bullish sentiment.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.44 percent higher at 790.5 yuan (USD111.24) a metric ton, as of 0202 GMT.
The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore Exchange climbed 0.72 percent to USD104.7 a ton.
Iron ore prices firmed last week after Chinese state media signaled Beijing may roll out support for the property-sector, including mortgage subsidies for first-time buyers, higher income-tax rebates for borrowers, and lower housing transaction costs, said analysts from ANZ.
Recent supply-side disruptions provided support to iron ore prices, impacting short term market sentiment, said broker Galaxy Futures.
China’s state-owned iron ore buyer had ordered steel mills to halt purchases of a type of BHP iron ore last week, adding to a separate ban already in place and escalating a dispute over a new contract.
Still, with inventories elevated and demand softening into winter, the China Iron & Steel Association expects domestic steel prices to remain under pressure for the foreseeable future according to its latest monthly report.
While global steel production fell 5.9 percent year-on-year in October, crude steel output in top producer and consumer China dipped 12.1percent, according to data from the World Steel Association.
Total iron ore stockpiles across ports in China edged up 0.03percent week-on-week to about 139.6 million tons, as of November 21, according to SteelHome data.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE dipped, with coking coal and coke down 1.62 percent and 0.12percent, respectively. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly up.
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