BEIJING- Iron ore futures prices were hemmed into a tight range on Tuesday, as investors and traders struggled to find a clear direction amid mixed market signals in top consumer China.
The country’s Ministry of Finance officials said on Monday that they would actively promote the replacement of consumer goods such as cars and home appliances, which, in theory, supports steel demand.
However, the upward momentum of steel consumption in the world’s second-largest economy, ongoing since early April, has slowed down after some southern regions were hit by earlier-than-normal rains.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 0.23 percent lower at 863.5 yuan ($119.19) a metric ton.
The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.47 percent lower at $115.65 a ton.
High stocks and thinning spot buying interest after some mills stockpiled sufficient volumes for the usage over the May Day holiday break weighed on prices of the key steelmaking ingredient, said analysts.
“The supply of iron ore is currently still higher than the actual needs with the continuous pick-up in portside stocks,” analysts at Jinrui Futures said in a note.
