SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures rose on Wednesday as traders welcomed China’s decision to roll out further stimulus, although lingering concerns about steel demand capped gains.
The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange was poised for a three-day rally, up nearly 2% at 867.5 yuan ($121.21) per metric ton, as of 0218 GMT. On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark September iron ore inched up 0.7% at $113.1 a metric ton.
China’s top leaders pledged on Monday to step up policy support for the economy amid a tortuous post-COVID recovery, focusing on boosting domestic demand. “The Politburo meeting contained the strongest indication to date of meaningful policy stimulus in the works aimed at boosting economic activity in China,” National Australia Bank said in a note on Wednesday, adding that it reflects the expected uptick in demand from the China stimulus.
Investors piled into Chinese property developers’ shares and bonds on Tuesday following a sharp sell-off in the previous session, after policymakers said they would step up support for the embattled sector. Fresh data, however, reignited concerns over steel demand.
Global crude steel production fell 1.1% year-on-year to 943.9 million metric tons in the first half of 2023 due to lower output in Europe and the Americas, data from the World Steel Association showed on Tuesday. Output in China, the world’s top producer and consumer of the metal, rose 1.3% to 535.6 metric tons in January-June, according to the data.
Comments
Comments are closed.