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Dalian iron ore snaps three-day slide
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Singapore market closed for a holiday
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Steel prices record gains on resumed demand hopes
(Updates prices, adds analyst comments and bullets)
BEIJING, April 7 (Reuters) - Dalian iron ore futures
ended narrowly higher on Friday to end a three-day slide as
portside stocks fell and hot metal output likely rose, while
speculation about state policy on cutting crude steel output
weighed.
Portside iron ore inventories at major ports across China
fell by 7.5% to 131.53 million tonnes in the week to April 6,
marking the sixth weekly drop in a row, data from consultancy
Mysteel showed.
The daily hot metal output is expected to increase by 1.54%
to 2.45 million tonnes over March 21-31 from the previous 10-day
period, according to data from the China Iron and Steel
Association (CISA).
Meanwhile, the market was abuzz with talks that the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will hold a meeting on
Friday to discuss details on crude steel cut policy for this
year, analysts said.
NDRC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
The most-traded September iron ore futures contract on the
Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trading
0.13% higher at 795.5 yuan ($115.74) a tonne, after shedding
4.4% in the previous three trading sessions of this week.
The Singapore market was closed for a public holiday.
Other steelmaking raw materials including coking coal and
coke saw mixed movements. Coking coal climbed 1.09%,
while coke dipped 0.45%.
Steel futures recorded some gains, boosted by resumed demand
hope with weather becoming conductive to construction as well as
hopes of the state planner finalising its steel output reduction
policy, according to analysts.
"Even though the meeting is set for the discussion (of crude
steel production reduction), we do not think there will be a
final conclusion today. An official decision is normally
concluded after several rounds of discussions," said a
Shanghai-based iron ore analyst.
Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced
0.99% to 3,989 yuan a tonne, hot-rolled coil rose
1.12%, wire rod climbed 0.27% and stainless steel gained 1.76%.
($1 = 6.8732 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Amy Lv and Dominique Patton; editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jason Neely)
