BEIJING- China’s iron ore futures jumped in early trade, extending gains for the sixth straight session, as the governmaent pledged to implement monetary and fiscal policies to refuel the slowing economy.
China’s cabinet, the State Council, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, said on Wednesday China would use both broad and targeted reserve requirement ratio cuts for banks “in a timely manner”, and ramp up support for the real economy.
The most-active iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange surged as much as 3.8 percent to 664 yuan ($93.62) a ton in early trade.
Benchmark 62 percent iron ore for delivery to China, as assessed by SteelHome consultancy, held its ground at $91 a ton on Wednesday.
The most-traded construction steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose 1.2 percent to 3,455 yuan a ton as of 0215 GMT.
“Increased government support from monetary and fiscal sides would be both positive to steel production and coking coal demand,” Argonaut Securities said in a note.
Dalian coking coal, for January 2020 delivery, gained 1.4 percent to 1,332 yuan a ton. — Reuters