Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped by
0.12% to 4,140 yuan a tonne, wire rod declined 0.36%,
and stainless steel shed 2.4%. Hot-rolled coil edged up 0.05%, though.
"Both production and apparent demand of construction steel
products picked up slightly this week, while inventories eyed
obvious drops. The market is still holding a strong expectation
of economic recovery," analysts at Everbright Futures said in a
morning note.
($1 = 6.8975 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Dominique Patton)
BEIJING, March 30 (Reuters) - Dalian iron ore futures on
Thursday eyed their fourth straight session of gain, supported
by prospects of demand recovery after steel consumption was
temporarily capped by rainy weather in many regions last week.
The most-traded May iron ore futures contract on the Dalian
Commodity Exchange (DCE) added 0.39% to 892 yuan
($129.32)a tonne as of 0212 GMT.
"Hot metal output still has some room for further growth in
the short run, lending support to the upstream ore market,"
analysts at Huatai Futures said in a note.
Mills' interest in restocking raw materials depends on how
steel demand actually performs and the shrinking steel margins
due to falling steel prices will cap room for iron ore price
gains, they added.
On the Singapore Exchange, the most-active May iron ore
contract was 0.37% lower at $122.4 a tonne as of 0224
GMT.
Other steelmaking ingredients-coking coal and coke both
posted losses in the morning trading session with the former falling 0.49% and the latter dipping 0.52%.
Steel futures prices were mostly on the downtrend but
analysts expect growing demand to support the market in the near
term.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.