SINGAPORE- Dalian iron ore futures posted weekly gains, even as prices hit one-week lows on Friday as investors weighed a softer global demand outlook against better economic data from top consumer China and prospects of further stimulus from Beijing.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.47 percent lower at 770.5 yuan ($108.17) a metric ton.
The contract earlier fell to 764.5 yuan, its weakest since Oct. 25. It gained 0.65 percent for the week.
The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.38 percent lower at $102.25 a ton. It rose 2.35 percent for the week.
China’s new home prices rose at a faster pace in October, suggesting that recent support measures could be having some early impact in a crisis-hit market.
Manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy swung back to growth last month as an expansion in new orders led to a pick-up in production growth.
However, new export orders declined to an eight-month low, signaling weakening external demand, which has been one of the main drivers behind a stronger-than-expected manufacturing performance for much of 2024, ING analysts said.
“Moving forward, we’ll need to see if the stimulus rollout can lead to a recovery of domestic demand to offset potentially softer external demand picture, which could be even less favorable if we see a Trump victory and subsequent escalation of tariffs,” said the ING analysts.
