Iron ore futures continued to rise on Thursday, driven by renewed support for China’s property sector and improving margins for steelmakers. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), the most-traded January iron ore contract gained 1.51%, reaching 738 yuan ($103.46) per metric ton by the end of the morning session, having peaked at 747 yuan earlier. This marks the fourth consecutive session of gains, following a more than 4% surge on Wednesday.
Similarly, the benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange edged up by 0.41% to $98.7 per ton as of 0334 GMT, after briefly touching $99.9 during the session.
Market sentiment has been buoyed by the approval of 5,392 property projects under China’s “whitelist” programme, designed to inject liquidity into the struggling property sector with a financing total of nearly 1.4 trillion yuan. This positive outlook, along with the improved profitability among steelmakers, has helped sustain the rally in iron ore prices. Furthermore, China’s state planner has urged increased investment in equipment upgrades to aid the energy transition.
Despite the ongoing gains, some analysts remain cautious about the long-term sustainability of the price rebound. Jiang Mengtian, an analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights, noted that the recent upward correction does not necessarily indicate a resolution of the underlying issues in the ferrous market. Without a significant improvement in demand, prices could still face downward pressure later in the year.
Other steelmaking materials on the DCE also saw further gains, with coking coal and coke increasing by 0.81% and 0.11%, respectively. Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange saw modest advances, though at a slower rate. Rebar rose by 0.41%, hot-rolled coil increased by 0.46%, and stainless steel climbed by 0.33%,
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