BEIJING- Iron ore futures rose to their highest levels in over a week on Thursday, buoyed by renewed expectations of further monetary easing in top consumer China, alongside improved profitability among certain steelmakers.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.69 percent higher at 841 yuan ($116.83) a metric ton, the highest since Mar. 11.
The benchmark April iron ore on the Singapore Exchange climbed 3.29 percent to $109.2 a ton, partly helped by improved risk appetite after the US Federal Reserve maintained its projection of three rate cuts for this year. The futures hit an intra-day high at $110.5 a ton, marking their strongest level since March 11.
China’s central bank said on Thursday there is ample monetary policy flexibility to implement additional reductions to banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), reinforcing market expectations for further easing measures to bolster the economy.
Prices of the key steelmaking ingredient are also underpinned by the lingering hope of potential growth in demand in the coming weeks.