Iron ore up amid output uncertainties

- Advertisement -

BEIJING- Benchmark iron ore futures in China inched higher and moved in a narrow range in early trade on Wednesday, contained by both demand and supply uncertainties amid China’s robust steel consumption and global coronavirus concerns.

The most-traded September contract of iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange inched up 0.2 percent to 772 yuan ($109.18) a ton.

Spot prices for iron ore with 62 percent iron content for delivery to China fell to $105 a ton on Tuesday.

- Advertisement -

“Weekly shipments (of iron ore) is still fluctuating, and the intensifying pandemic in Brazil has been the focus of the market,” Huatai Futures wrote in a note.

It also noted that utilization rates at blast furnaces started to weaken but still rema in at high levels.

Weekly capacity utilization rates at blast furnaces in 163 mills in China dropped to 79.3 percent on June 5, down slightly from 79.6 percent a week earlier, data compiled by Mysteel consultancy showed.

Steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery rose 0.3 percent to 3,615 yuan a ton.

Hot-rolled coil futures gained 0.7 percent to 3,554 yuan a ton.

Meanwhile, Shanghai copper jumped to its highest level in nearly 20 weeks, recouping almost all of its losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on strong demand in China and low stocks.

The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) rose 1.4 percent to 46,790 yuan ($6,618.39) a ton. Earlier in the day, it jumped 1.8 percent to 46,980 yuan a ton, its highest since Jan. 23.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: