BEIJING: Iron ore futures ticked up on Friday to head for a weekly rise at four-week-high levels as a raft of better-than-expected data from top consumer China buoyed sentiment and China demand stayed resilient.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.27% higher at 800 yuan ($109.19) a metric ton,the highest since Dec. 17, 2024.
The benchmark February iron ore on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.31% to $103 a ton, as of 0333 GMT, the highest since Dec. 18, 2024. Both benchmarks posted a gain of 6% so far this week.
China’s economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected, helped by a flurry of stimulus measures, with an annual growth of 5%, which meets the government’s target, although analysts had forecast 4.9% growth.
Data for the property sector, including sales and new construction starts measured by floor area, showed some improvement, boosting sentiment.
The average daily hot metal output among steelmakers surveyed halted eight weeks of decline to add 0.05% week-on-week to 2.24 million tons as of Jan. 16, data from consultancy Mysteel showed, reflecting that the key steelmaking ingredient’s demand remained resilient in a slack demand season. Hot metal output, a blast furnace product, is typically used to gauge iron ore demand.
Iron ore hits 7-week lows on rising China stockpile
Despite an annual decline of 1.7%, China’s 2024 crude steel output stayed above 1 billion tons.
Total output in 2025 will fall below that level, analysts said.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal and coke up 2.13% and 1.87%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained ground. Rebar advanced 1.51%, hot-rolled coil added 1.19%, wire rod rose 0.92% and stainless steel gained 0.87%.
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