SINGAPORE — Prices of iron ore futures extended gains on Friday, notching a second consecutive weekly rise, driven by improved market sentiment after officials in top consumer China called to curb aggressive price competition.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.62 percent higher at 732.5 yuan ($102.25) a metric ton.
The contract gained 3.08 percent this week.
The benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.3 percent lower at $96.15 a ton but was up 1.93 percent for the week.
Earlier this week, the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission called for stricter measures against aggressive price-cutting competition among companies.
That has raised hopes of a second round of supply reform in the oversupplied steel sector, which could improve steel margins and lift mills’ price tolerance for ingredients, analysts said.
Total stockpiles of iron ore across ports in China fell 0.15 percent week-on-week to 133.4 million tons as of July 4, according to consultancy SteelHome data, also lending some support to prices.
However, signs of softening demand in part due to environmental protection-related production control in Tangshan, China’s top steel-producing hub, limited the upside potential.
Average daily hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, slid by 0.6 percent week-over-week to the lowest since April 19 at 2.41 million tons as of July 3, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.
The dollar pared its earlier gains after US President Donald Trump’s ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’ was passed.
