BEIJING: Iron ore futures prices traded in a tight range on Friday, but were set to end the week higher, supported by expectation that steelmakers in top consumer China will accelerate feedstock restocking ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
The most-traded iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade up 0.52 percent at 780 yuan (USD110.79) a metric ton, posting a weekly increase of 2.6 percent - its biggest weekly gain since late October.
The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.17percent lower at USD104.7 a ton, as of 0701 GMT, but poised for a weekly rise of 2.7 percent. It touched its highest since November 27 at USD105 earlier in the session. Steel mills are expected to ramp up buying of spot cargoes in the coming weeks to replenish volumes to meet consumption needs during the Lunar New Year holiday over February 15-23.
Also supporting prices was the persistent structural tightness for medium-grade iron ore, after a ban on two grades of BHP ore following a negotiation dispute between the miner and China’s state-owned iron ore buyer.
Additionally, some Chinese steel exporters are likely to front-load shipments this month as steel exports will be subject to a licence system from January, said analysts. However, near-term ore consumption continued to fall, curbing the upside.
Average daily hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, slid by 1.2percent week-on-week to 2.26 million tons, as of December 18, the lowest level since late January, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. Among other steelmaking ingredients, coking coal was flat and coke rose 1.36 percent.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar was flat, hot-rolled coil shed 0.24 percent, wire rod advanced 0.86 percent and stainless steel rose 2.58 percent.