STEEL NEWS

Iron ore futures recover, expecting economic incentives

According to Reuters, iron ore futures in China and Singapore fully recovered early losses on Friday March 13th, fueled by rising expectations of further political measures to support the global economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The most active May iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 2.9% to 676.50 yuan ($ 96.77) per tonne, recovering from a 2.3% fall in morning trading.

On the Singapore Stock Exchange, April steel contracts in April rose 1.5% in the afternoon, recovering from a 2.2% drop at the start of the session.

Dalian iron ore rose 2.6% this week, adding to a 6.6% increase last week, helped by continuing supply problems due to declining stocks in Chinese ports and hopes for stimulating stimulus recovery in demand.

Many of China's largest steel producer enterprises opened after several weeks of shutdown due to measures to curb the spread of viruses, but overall metal demand remains weak due to the global pandemic.

“The market is seeking further easing by the central bank and global fiscal stimulus amid the outbreak of COVID-19,” said ING commodity analysts.

“With regard to base metals and iron ore, hopes for fiscal stimulus in China are growing, although there are not enough details,” they said.

ING economists expect the People’s Bank of China to lower its core loan rate by another 10 basis points next week.

Steel rebar futures in Shanghai rose 1.9%, while hot rolled steel futures rose 1.6%, but stainless steel futures fell 0.3%.

Spot prices for iron ore with Fe62% on Thursday fell to $ 90.50 per ton, after rising to $ 91.50 per ton a day earlier, SteelHome reports.