BEIJING- Iron ore futures rose for a second straight session on Friday, underpinned by easing concerns over demand prospects in top consumer China and firming bets for a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.72 percent higher at 839.5 yuan ($115.90) a metric ton, after an increase of nearly 1 percent on Thursday.
The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.51 percent higher at $109.35 a ton.
The market expects daily hot metal output to stay above the current level amid talks of a production cut of up to 20 million tons of crude steel this year, analysts at Jinrui Futures said in a note.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which said in early April it would continue to manage crude steel output in 2024, has yet to respond to a Reuters’ request for comment sent on Thursday.
Average daily hot metal output among steelmakers surveyed fell for a third consecutive week, down 0.03 percent on week to 2.36 million tons as of June 7, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
“Some traders closed their short positions for steel products amid market talk of steel cut, contributing to a rebound in the ferrous market,” analysts at Hongyuan Futures said in a note.
