Iron ore declines

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SINGAPORE- Iron ore futures edged up on Friday, aided by stimulus expansion from top consumer China, but ended the week lower on seasonally softening demand for the key steelmaking ingredient.

The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.4 percent higher at 753.5 yuan ($102.76) a metric ton but logged 1.95 percent decline for the week.

The benchmark February iron ore on the Singapore Exchange traded steady, ticking down 0.01 percent at $97.05 a ton, falling 1.17 percent so far this week.

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Steel consumption has seasonally slowed, denting appetite for feedstocks including iron ore, analysts at Chinese consultancy Galaxy Futures said.

The average capacity utilization rate of 247 blast furnace producers slid for the eighth straight week to reach 84.24 percent, Chinese consultancy Mysteel data showed.

While a reduction in steel supply is expected this month as more steelmakers started equipment maintenance, that is unlikely to be enough to counterbalance the shrinking demand, Mysteel said in a separate note, quoting a report from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Earlier this week, Beijing expanded its consumer trade-in scheme in an effort to revive sluggish household consumption.

Growth in China was estimated at 4.9 percent for 2024 and is projected to be 4.8 percent this year, partly offset by subdued consumption growth and lingering property sector weakness.

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