keywords :
Iron ore futures strengthened for a second straight session on Wednesday, lifted by hopes of more stimulus for China’s property sector, although analysts anticipate a drop in near-term prices.
The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 2.6% higher to 825.0 yuan ($114.69) per metric ton.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark August iron ore was up 3.1% at $109.0 per metric ton, as of 0715 GMT.
Iron ore prices were buoyed by China’s state-run financial newspapers reporting the prospect of more property-supportive policies, following Monday’s announcement of a loan relief plan for developers, National Australia Bank said in a note.
China’s central bank on Monday extended until the end of 2024 some policies in a November rescue package to shore up the real estate sector, with current support for the sector failing to gain traction and markets expecting more stimulus to be rolled out soon.
Still, new home sales in the country’s major cities have been declining with the exception of Shanghai, ANZ Research said in a separate note.
“Measures are still short of what is required to turn around the property sector. We think iron ore prices will eventually continue trending lower unless more concrete support measures are announced,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said, adding that any impact will likely be seen only next year.
China will report its first batch of June trade data on Thursday, which will include the closely watched iron ore imports and steel exports.
China’s apparent consumption of crude steel is expected to fall 27.8 million metric tons, or 5.7% year-on-year to 459.8 million tons in the second half of this year, MySteel said in a fresh forecast released on Tuesday.
The most-active rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 1.1%, hot-rolled coil strengthened 1%, wire rod rose 1.5%, and stainless steel gained 0.1%.
Steelmaking ingredients Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 and coke were up 3% and 2.3%, respectively.