BEIJING- Dalian iron ore futures prices extended gains for a second straight session on Wednesday, supported by expectations of improving demand and fewer portside arrivals that would lead to large destocking at major ports in top consumer China.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 1.3 percent higher at 819 yuan ($112.46) a metric ton, as of 0246 GMT.
The benchmark March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was little changed at $106.65 a ton.
Analysts at Jinrui Futures forecast in a note that China’s port arrivals of iron ore from the world’s four largest producers in the second half of February will fall sharply from the prior week as of February 14 to the lowest for the period since 2019, resulting in large destocking at ports.
“It’s the traditionally slack season for iron ore shipments while domestic ore production recovery is limited, suggesting supply will stay at a relatively low level,” analysts at Huatai Futures said in a note.
Iron ore shipments from major supplier Australia had fallen sharply in the past two weeks due to tropical cyclones.
