Iron ore price rises on pre-holiday restocking, China stimulus hopes
"Winter restocking of iron ore among steel mills is still underway, so we believe ore prices will find some support in the near term," analyst says.
Iron ore prices extended losses on Wednesday, with demand prospects temporarily weighed down by China considering cutting its crude steel output by around 2.5%.
The target was proposed by policymakers at a meeting last week but it has not yet been finalized, said sources familiar with the matter.
Some officials said a cut of 2.5% was too high as the economy was still recovering and the target was expected to be set before the end of June.
Benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China fell 2.33%, to $121.81 per tonne.
The most-traded May iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 2.15% lower at 865.5 yuan ($125.64) a tonne, its lowest since February 15.
“The news (of crude steel output cuts) may provoke worry in the raw materials market in the short run,” said Kevin Bai, a Beijing-based steel analyst at consultancy CRU Group.
(With files from Reuters)
