Chinese iron ore futures rise as shipments from Brazil fall

Iron ore futures in China rose on Wednesday, extending gains into a second session, as data showed shipments from Brazil dropped last week.

The most-actively traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange - the January 2020 delivery - climbed as much as 2.5% to 667 yuan ($94.76) per tonne in morning trade. It closed up 1.8% at 662 yuan per tonne.

Shipments of the steelmaking ingredient from Brazil stood at 6.0 million tonnes, down by 516,000 tonnes from a week earlier, data compiled by Mysteel consultancy showed. Futures rose on Tuesday after Brazilian miner Vale SA lowered its outlook for iron ore production for the first quarter of next year.

Benchmark spot 62% iron ore stood at $89.5 per tonne on Tuesday, rebounding from three consecutive sessions of declines. Other steelmaking raw materials were mixed. Dalian coking coal futures fell 0.8% to 1,229 yuan per tonne, while January coke contract jumped 0.8% to 1,874 yuan per tonne.

The most-traded construction steel rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for January 2020 delivery, declined 0.4% to 3,603 yuan per tonne. Hot-rolled coil, used in cars and home appliances, edged up 0.2% to 3,600 yuan per tonne.

China hopes its new energy vehicle (NEV) sales can reach around a quarter of all car sales in 2025, the industry ministry said on Tuesday in a draft plan for development of the sector.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday a trade deal with China might have to wait until after the US presidential election in November 2020, denting hopes that the two largest economies would soon reach an initial deal to ease their damaging trade war.

Shanghai stainless steel future, for February 2020 delivery, dropped 1.1% to 13,850 yuan per tonne.

China's east Jiangsu province issued yellow alert for heavy pollution from Dec.3, official Xinhua news agency said.

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