BEIJING: Iron ore futures prices climbed on Monday, as “substantial progress” in trade talks between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, lifted investor sentiment.
The US and China ended high-stakes trade talks on a positive note on Sunday, with US officials touting a “deal” to reduce the US trade deficit, while Chinese officials said the sides had reached “important consensus” and agreed to launch another new economic dialogue forum.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 1.51% higher at 707 yuan ($97.9) a metric ton, as of 0215 GMT.
The benchmark June iron ore on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.41% to $98.3 a ton.
The relatively stable demand, underpinned by mills’ enthusiasm to sustain operations lured by profits, supported ore prices.
The average daily hot metal output - typically used to gauge iron ore demand - nudged 0.1% higher to 2.46 million tons as of May 8, the highest since October 2023, a survey by consultancy Mysteel showed.
Prices have been swinging back and forth with concerns mounting and subsiding over US tariff hikes and talks on China’s crude steel output cut to dampen demand for the key steelmaking ingredient.
Iron ore up on China stimulus, Sino-US trade talks
Seaborne ore prices have fallen by 11% from the year-to-date peak of $107 a ton in February, consultancy Steelhome data showed.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained ground.
Rebar added 0.26%, hot-rolled coil advanced 0.38%, wire rod nudged up 0.06% and stainless steel rose 1.18%.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE, however, continued their downtrend as weak fundamentals outweighed trade optimism, with coking coal and coke down 1.02% and 0.27%, respectively.
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