Sunday, October 1, 2023
HomeHeadlinesIron ore gains on improved China steel demand, stimulus hopes

Subscribe

To our FREE newsletter
Get all the latest maritime news delivered straight to your inbox.

Iron ore gains on improved China steel demand, stimulus hopes

Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures rose on Monday, with investor sentiment buoyed by signs of improvement in downstream demand and expectations of a raft of stimulus policies to be rolled out in the world’s second-largest economy.

Apparent demand for the five major steel products – rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and medium plate – posted a week-on-week rise of 9% to 10.08 million tonnes in the week as of May 11, according to Reuters calculation based on data from consultancy Mysteel.

The most-traded September iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trading 4.17% higher at a three-week high of 725 yuan ($104.89) a tonne after falling 1.3% last week.

The benchmark June iron ore SZZFM3 on the Singapore Exchange rose 3.97% to $103.4 a tonne, as of 0805 GMT, the highest since May 8. This came after it fell 5.7% last week.

“The rise is partly benefiting from the market expectation that (Chinese) government may roll out some stimulus policies to boost the economy after the weaker-than-expected economic data last week,” said Chen Peng, a Beijing-based steel raw materials analyst at Sinosteel Futures.

New Chinese bank loans tumbled far more sharply than expected in April, less than a fifth of March’s tally and just over half of the amount expected by analysts, data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Thursday.

“We have not seen any material improvement in the (iron ore) fundamentals, though,” Chen added.

An increase in crude steel output, following production resumption at some mills, also lent support to the market, according to analysts.

China’s daily crude steel output is estimated at 2.91 million tonnes in the first ten days of May, posing a rise of 1.18% from the previous ten-day level, data from the China Iron and Steel Association showed.

The other steelmaking ingredients-coking coal DJMcv1 gained 3.31% and coke DCJcv1 climbed 2.98%.

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 rose 2% to 3,667 yuan a tonne, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 advanced 2.33%, and wire rod SWRcv1 was 1.13% higher.

Source: Reuters

Related Posts

Video

Finance & Economy
Shipping News
Ports

Sphinx Investment Corp Increases Stake in OceanPal

On September 28, 2023, an OceanPal SEC filing revealed that Sphinx Investment Corp. had raised its ownership in OceanPal, now holding a substantial stake...

Star Bulk Announces the Repurchase of 10 Million of Its Common Shares

Star Bulk announced that it entered into a Repurchase Agreement (with OCM XL Holdings, LP, a limited partnership incorporated in the Cayman Islands, pursuant...

Trafigura announces executive leadership changes

Trafigura Group Pte Ltd. has announced an evolution of its executive team to further strengthen leadership and focus across its global activities during a...

Woori, HMM, KOBC to buy Polaris in prospective $448 mln deal – report

Polaris Shipping Co. is poised to sell its entire stake at around 600 billion won ($447.5 million) to Woori Private Equity Asset Management Co....

Pyxis Tankers Announces Closing of Ultramax JV Investment

Pyxis Tankers, an international shipping company, reported that on September 14, 2023, the Company closed on its previously announced newly formed drybulk joint venture...

Baltic index snaps 4-day winning streak as capesize rates slip

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk...

Baltic index scales 11-month peak on strong capesize rates

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Baltic index scales over 9-month high on capesize surge

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Baltic index rises to over 4-month high on stronger capesize rates

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry...

Houston-Japan VLGC freight rates reach multi-year high

VLGC freight rates from Houston to Chiba, Japan, reached $245/mt Sept. 21 for the...

Piraeus Port reports strong H1 2023 results

The Piraeus Port Authority SA, which operates Greece’s biggest and busiest port, reported a 48.8-percent increase in pre-tax earnings for H1 2023 – 49.4...

Greece names Thessaloniki port operator preferred bidder for Volos port

Greece’s privatisation agency has named the operator of Thessaloniki port as the preferred bidder for acquiring a 67% stake in the port of Volos,...

Drewry: Port Throughput Index Down 2.1% in July

The Global Container Port Throughput Index fell 2.1% MoM in July 2023, with the small rises recorded in Africa and Oceania having been insufficient...

Vopak: Agreement with Infracapital on sale of Rotterdam chemical terminals

Vopak announces that it has reached an agreement with Infracapital on the sale of its three chemical terminals in Rotterdam (Botlek, TTR and Chemiehaven)...

Port Hedland Iron Ore Exports Edge Up 4% in August

Pilbara Ports Authority has delivered a total monthly throughput of 62.8 million tonnes (Mt) for August 2023, consistent with the August 2022 throughput. The Port...