SINGAPORE – Iron ore futures strengthened for a second straight session on Wednesday, lifted by hopes of more stimulus for China’s property sector.
The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rallied 1.8 percent to 818.5 yuan ($113.91) per metric ton.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark August iron ore was up 2.1 percent at $107.9 per metric ton.
Iron ore prices were buoyed by China’s state-run financial newspapers reporting the prospect of more property-supportive policies, following Monday’s announcement of a loan relief plan for developers, National Australia Bank said in a note.
China’s central bank on Monday extended until the end of 2024 some policies in a November rescue package to shore up the real estate sector, with current supports for the sector failing to gain traction and markets expecting more stimulus to be rolled out soon. Shares of Chinese property developers rose on Tuesday.
Still, new home sales in the country’s major cities have been declining with the exception of Shanghai, ANZ Research said in a separate note.
