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Dalian iron ore scales over two-week peak
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SGX iron ore holds its ground above $100/T
(Updates price changes throughout)
By Enrico Dela Cruz
May 10 (Reuters) - Benchmark iron ore futures rose on
Wednesday, supported by renewed optimism around demand prospects
in top steel producer China, though other steelmaking
ingredients including coking coal slumped after a two-day
advance.
Iron ore's most-active June contract on the Singapore
Exchange was up 1.9% at $103.90 a tonne, as of 0725
GMT, having hit $105.15 earlier in the session.
On China's Dalian Commodity Exchange, iron ore's most-traded September contract ended daytime trade 0.3% higher at 724 yuan ($104.74) a tonne. It earlier touched 733 yuan, its strongest since April 24. Spurring hopes for increased demand for iron ore, steel industry consultancy and data provider Mysteel reported that six steel mills in North China's Shanxi province will gradually resume production in the coming two weeks amid improved margins, thanks to lower production costs. That will likely increase the daily blast furnace capacity utilization rate to 89% from 74.8% as of May 9, Mysteel analysts said. Expectations of expanded stimulus for China's economy amid an uneven recovery also kept iron ore prices supported. "Certainly there is a feeling that Chinese authorities are likely to announce further supportive measures over the coming weeks," said Al Munro of broker Marex. Dalian coking coal , however, shed 2.1%, while Dalian coke dropped 2%. "Considering that the demand is still facing downward pressure, traders are less motivated to haul coking coal," Sinosteel Futures analysts said in a note. China's coal imports fell in April from a 15-month high in the prior month, but its January-April purchases rose a hefty 89% from a year earlier, data on Tuesday showed, overshadowing the suspension of operations at 32 open-pit mines for safety checks in the northwestern Inner Mongolia region.
Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 0.9%, hot-rolled coil fell 1%, wire rod dipped 3.4%, while stainless steel added 0.8%. (Additional reporting by Amy Lv in Beijing; editing by Eileen Soreng)
