BEIJING- Iron ore futures prices rose on Thursday, buoyed by renewed hopes of improving demand in top consumer China in the coming weeks, but caution about high inventories and concerns over the extent of recovery in downstream steel demand capped gains.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 0.99 percent higher at 763.5 yuan ($107.21) a metric ton.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.34 percent to $102.15 a ton.
“We expect hot metal output to rebound next week although a continued fall will be seen this week,” said Xie Qingwei, an analyst at consultancy Shanghai Metals Market (SMM).
Output of hot metal, a blast furnace product, is typically used to gauge iron ore demand.
Analysts at BMI revised down their 2024 iron ore price forecast from an annual average of $120 a ton to $110 a ton, as subdued demand in China continues to pressure the iron ore market.
“We expect negative sentiment over the sluggish Chinese property sector, the downfall of which now looks irreversible, to persist, further capping prices.”
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal and coke up 0.72 percent and 0.43 percent , respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar added 0.4 percent , hot-rolled coil nudged up 0.15 percent , wire rod shed 1.32 percent and stainless steel was almost flat.
