Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Prices of iron ore futures gained ground on Thursday, as prospects of fresh Chinese monetary stimulus and lower inventories overshadowed concerns of the top consumer’s weakening domestic demand.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.69% higher at 693.0 yuan ($98.10) a metric ton.
The benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 2.46% higher at $92.95 a ton, as of 0700 GMT.
China is widely expected to trim its main policy and benchmark lending rates on Friday, a Reuters poll showed, after the Federal Reserve’s outsized interest rate cut removed some risks around sharp yuan declines.
Analysts say Chinese policymakers will likely step up measures to at least help the economy meet an increasingly challenging growth target for 2024, with a sharper focus on boosting demand to fight persistent deflationary pressures.
Economic data for August fell below expectations, raising the urgency to roll out more stimulus measures to prop up the economy, market watchers said.
Meanwhile, inventories of imported iron ore held by 64 Chinese steelmakers dropped by 0.4% from the prior week to 10.9 million tons as of Sept. 18, Chinese consultancy Mysteel said in a note, attributing the fall to steel mills’ larger consumption of the feedstock.
Ongoing declines in steel inventories are likely to support prices of steel products, particularly rebar and wire rod, Mysteel added.
Across Chinese ports, total iron ore stockpiles dipped 0.73% week-on-week, as of Sept. 13, Steelhome data showed.
Chinese steel exports held at record highs in August, with the surge indicative of weak domestic demand, Westpac analysts said.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal and coke up 2.3% and 2.71%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were stronger. Wire rod climbed 2.26%, rebar rose 1.14%, hot-rolled coil added 1.03% and stainless steel gained 0.94%.
($1 = 7.0639 Chinese yuan)
(By Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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