BEIJING- Iron ore futures in China rose in early trade as weekly utilization rate increased, pointing to firm demand for the steelmaking ingredient.
Utilization rate at 247 steel mills across China rose to 78.40 percent last week from 76.89 percent a week earlier, according to data compiled by consultancy Mysteel on China’s main mills.
The most-traded iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange for May 2020 delivery jumped as much as 0.8 percent to 668 yuan ($95.79) per ton. It was up 0.2 percent at 665 yuan per ton by 0229 GMT.
Benchmark spot cargoes of iron ore with 62 percent iron content for delivery to China jumped for a second session to $94.5 a ton on Friday.
Other steelmaking raw materials also rose, with Dalian coking coal inching up 0.1 percent to 1,179 yuan per ton and Dalian coke gaining 0.2 percent to 1,873 yuan per ton. — Reuters