BEIJING- Iron ore futures hit a fourth straight weekly rise, aided by China’s new measures to shore up its troubled property sector and boost confidence, although higher stocks and concerns over steel output curbs in China limited the gains.
The most-traded January iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trading 0.48 percent higher at 845.5 yuan ($116.40) a metric ton, rising 3.2 percent for the week.
The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.33 percent lower at $115.95 a metric ton but rose 3.3 percent so far in the week.
China’s central bank and financial regulator on Thursday issued notices to ease some borrowing rules to aid homebuyers, including lowering the existing mortgage rate for first-home buyers and the down payment ratio in some cities, in their latest efforts to revive the crisis-hit property market.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.0 in August from 49.2 in July, beating analysts’ forecasts of 49.3 and marking the highest reading since February.
China will continue to cap steel output this year, the general manager of state-owned Baoshan Iron & Steel said on Thursday. – Reuters
