BEIJING- Iron ore futures prices ticked up on Thursday after falling for five straight sessions, as some portside restocking ahead of a holiday in top consumer China lifted sentiment, although diminishing demand and high supplies capped gains.
Steelmakers typically tend to stock up on portside ore cargoes ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, falling on June 8-10 this year, analysts said. Transaction volumes at major ports climbed 35 percent day-on-day to 1.17 million metric tons on Wednesday, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.24 percent higher at 833.5 yuan ($115.05) a ton.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.89 percent higher at $108.05 a ton.
“Iron ore prices are likely to consolidate amid downward pressure stemming from languishing demand and high supply, and a support level at $100 a ton,” analysts at Hongyuan Futures said in a note.
Demand wilted with the daily crude steel output among key members under the China Iron and Steel Association sliding to around 2.18 million tons during May 21-31, a fall of 1.49 percent from the previous 10-day period, CISA data showed.
