China’s iron ore futures rose on Monday for a tenth straight session, their longest winning streak since June 2016, on hopes that Beijing would take more steps to support an economy jolted by a coronavirus outbreak.
Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 2.2% before running out of steam in late trade to settle 0.6% higher at 674 yuan ($95.94) a tonne.
The steelmaking raw material added 16.6% in the 10 sessions through Monday, with tightening seaborne supplies to China initially driving the gains. Spot prices also spiked, hitting four-week highs.
Benchmark 62% iron ore’s spot price settled at $92.50 a tonne on Friday, rising 13% over the last three weeks, based on data compiled by SteelHome consultancy.
“I haven’t seen any real demand improvement in the physical market but lower shipments might be a supporting factor,” said Richard Lu, a senior analyst at CRU Group in Beijing.
“Having said that, it is insufficient to justify such rapid and significant price increases,” he added.
In the futures market, Lu said it was “still expectation-driven, as bulls expect stimulus to support demand after the (coronavirus) situation improves.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday vowed to step up policy adjustments to support the domestic economy, saying the situation was “still severe and complex” and that prevention was “in the most difficult and critical stage”.
“The official statement over the weekend struck a more decisive and explicit tone in adopting a pro-growth full-range stimulus measure to protect and boost the economy,” said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong.
“Thus, we expect stronger and more targeted stimulus to be announced soon,” she said.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Iron ore inventory at China’s ports fell to 128.6 million tonnes as of Feb. 21 from 130.65 million tonnes a week earlier, SteelHome data showed, marking the second weekly decline.
* Large parts of China relaxed curbs on transport and movement of people as reported new cases of infection outside the worst-hit Hubei province fell to the lowest in a month.
* Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 0.2%, while hot-rolled coil rose 0.6%.
* China’s biggest steel producer, China Baowu Steel Group, expects output to fall 5% in the first quarter of 2020 due to coronavirus disruptions.
* Stainless steel slipped 1.3%.
* Coking coal rose 1.2% while coke shed 0.2%.
Source: Reuters
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