Iron ore price recovers but posts weekly loss as Beijing stimulus uncertainty weighs

The contract lost 2.18% for the week, posting its first weekly fall since Sept. 27.

The benchmark November iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.64% higher at $106.1 a ton as of 0720 GMT but fell 3.88% this week.

China’s finance ministry is scheduled to hold a news conference on fiscal policy on Saturday.

Metals rose and the iron ore market marked time as traders remained “super focused” on Saturday’s announcement, Westpac analysts said in a note.

The conference follows an official briefing on Tuesday that affirmed Beijing was “fully confident” of achieving its growth target but refrained from introducing stronger fiscal steps, disappointing investors who had banked on more policy support to get the economy back on track.

Meanwhile, analysts also cited prospects of long-term gains for China’s commodities from its effective support of equity markets.

“A combination of stability in the real estate sector and stronger equity markets should see consumer sentiment rebound, which could bolster domestic confidence enough to lead to an economic rebound and stronger demand for commodities,” ANZ analysts said.

While the stimulus measures have lifted sentiment in housing and steel markets, fundamentals such as stable consumption and production increases will remain crucial variables for steel’s supply-demand dynamic, Chinese consultancy Steelhome said.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were stronger, with coking coal and coke up 2.77% and 1.28%, respectively.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange reversed earlier losses. Rebar and stainless steel ticked about 0.25% higher, hot-rolled coil gained around 0.6% and wire rod advanced 0.77%.

($1 = 7.0732 Chinese yuan)

(By Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)