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Dalian iron ore ends day session up 1.3%
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SGX benchmark June iron ore slumps over 3%
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China imports shrink, exports growth slows
(Updates prices throughout)
By Enrico Dela Cruz
May 9 (Reuters) - Dalian iron ore futures extended gains
on Tuesday on hopes of additional policy support for China's
economy, but the challenging outlook for the world's top steel
producer weighed on the steelmaking ingredient's benchmark price
in Singapore.
The most-traded September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 1.3% higher at 714 yuan ($103.30) a tonne. It earlier touched 727.50 yuan, its highest since April 27. On the Singapore Exchange, however, iron ore's benchmark June contract was down 3.4% at $101.90 a tonne, as of 0703 GMT, following a 7% intraday gain on Monday. The Dalian and SGX benchmarks veering in opposite directions mirrored traders' mixed sentiments, with some betting on fresh stimulus to support China's economy, while others were focused on a patchy recovery despite the lifting of tough COVID restrictions. China's gloomy trade data for April highlighted such bumpy recovery, with exports growing at a slower pace compared to March. The data also showed China's
iron ore imports dropped 9.8% in April from the month before, but rose 5.1% from April last year as buyers anticipated strong demand during the peak spring construction season, though it turned out otherwise.
"We expect commodity markets to remain reactive to any signs of policy support. That should keep iron ore prices volatile in the short term," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. Monday's iron ore gains came amid speculation about new rules governing state-owned enterprises' bond issuances, and as China's housing regulator ordered real estate brokers to reduce transaction and leasing service fees to support the property sector. Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.6%, hot-rolled coil climbed 1.1%, while stainless steel edged down 0.2%.
Coking coal and coke on the Dalian
exchange were up 0.4% and 1%, respectively.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sohini
Goswami and Sonia Cheema)
