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 rose again on Tuesday following the steel price increase.
The most-traded September iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) dropped in the morning but gained in the afternoon before closing up by 0.5% from Monday’s close of 1,225 yuan ($189) per tonne.
According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $222.36 a tonne on Tuesday, up 0.3% from Monday’s closing.
The August contract for stainless steel on the Shanghai bourse was up 2.2% at 16,880 yuan a tonne.
“Futures are stronger than spot prices as currently market has a relatively strong expectation on production restrictions,” GF Futures wrote in a note.
“Considering spot prices are supported by costs… (steel) will remain fluctuating at high levels,” GF added.
(With files from Reuters)
