Iron ore futures consolidates

BEIJING: Prices of iron ore futures consolidated on Thursday after a two-session rally, as the frenzy propelled by top consumer China’s fresh stimulus package faded and investors exercised greater caution while monitoring benefits to real demand.

The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) fell 0.35% at 713 yuan ($101.59) a metric ton, as of 0300 GMT.

The benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was little changed at $96.35 a ton. It nearly broke through the key psychological level of $100 a ton on Wednesday.

Beijing unveiled on Tuesday a raft of aggressive monetary stimulus, including broad rate cuts and lower down payment, as part of efforts to bolster the faltering economy, restore confidence and achieve its annual growth target of around 5%.

The measures have boosted sentiment in the broad commodities market, including iron ore, the price gains of which almost fully erased losses recorded in September.

“Stimulus-led optimism has already been fully priced in the ferrous market; buyers showed unwillingness to pay higher premium in the spot market, sparking caution in the futures as well,” said Pei Hao, an analyst at international brokerage Freight Investor Services (FIS). “Moreover, the flurry of restocking among steelmakers for the upcoming week-long holiday break has come to an end, cooling overall sentiment.”

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal dipping 0.19% and coke adding 0.26%. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly down. Hot-rolled coil shed 0.21%, wire rod fell 2.03%, stainless steel lost 0.48%, while rebar ticked up 0.12%.

“Prices largely consolidated due to mounting upside pressure, as persistently rising steel prices triggered expectations of rapid increase in supply,” said Cheng Peng, a Beijing-based analyst at Sinosteel Futures. “That could create another mismatch between supply and demand at a time when downstream steel consumption remains tepid.”