Iron ore futures prices advanced for a fourth session on Monday, buoyed by strong buying of medium-grade cargoes, though gains were capped by year-end blast furnace maintenance.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) rose 1.14% to 801 yuan($113.24) a metric ton.
The benchmark January iron ore (SZZFF6) on the Singapore Exchange was 1.42% higher at $103.65 a ton by 0708 GMT.
China’s blast-furnace steel output edged lower last week as some mills began annual maintenance, with capacity utilisation down 0.6 percentage point, according to data from consultancy Mysteel.
Despite weakening fundamentals, iron ore prices were supported by strong demand for medium-grade ores, Mysteel said.
Overseas iron ore supply is expected to keep recovering in December, while weak blast furnace margins and heavier year‑end maintenance point to further declines in pig iron output, broker Everbright Futures said.
European Union governments have called on the U.S. to remove the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs it introduced in August on 407 ‘derivative’ products such as wind turbines and motorcycles, or else the EU would retain its tariffs on such U.S. products until a solution is found.
Total stockpiles of iron ore in ports across China dipped 0.42% week-on-week to about 139 million tons, as of November 28, according to SteelHome data.
On Friday, China unveiled plans to expand the public real estate investment trust market to include commercial properties, after developer China Vanke’s 000002 bonds and stocks plunged to record lows last week, rekindling worries about a spillover effect for the broader property sector.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) up 2.73% and 2.86%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased. Rebar RBF1! strengthened 1.16%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! gained 1.03%, wire rod (SWRcv1) firmed 0.74% and stainless steel HRC1! climbed 0.73%.
Source: Reuters