BEIJING- Prices of iron ore futures pulled back on Wednesday from nearly three-week highs, as investors turned cautious ahead of data this week that could gauge better whether steel demand in top consumer China has shown signs of recovery.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) recouped early losses to end morning trade 0.2 percent higher at 756 yuan ($106.02) a metric ton, following an increase of more than 3 percent in the previous session.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was down 0.44 percent at $101.25 a ton, after hitting an intraday high at $102.5 a ton earlier in the session.
Both benchmarks touched nearly three-week highs on Tuesday when they had risen for two straight sessions.
“The valuation of the ferrous market has recovered a bit thanks to the persistent price rally and futures prices of steel products and iron ore are slightly higher than their counterparts in the spot market,” said Cheng Peng, a Beijing-based analyst at Sinosteel Futures.
“A further uptrend will require more stimulus policies or a clear sign of downstream demand recovery.”
