China steel rebounds from 3-1/2-mth low; iron ore rises 2 pct
MANILA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Shanghai rebar steel futures rebounded on Thursday as investors bought back the contract after falling to a 3-1/2-month low, with iron ore prices jumping more than 2 percent.
Helping the turnaround sentiment, China posted strong export and import growth in October, suggesting Beijing’s measures to support the cooling economy may be slowly paying off.
Expectations of more supply as mills ramp up output amid more lenient production curbs in winter had pushed steel prices lower earlier in the session.
Data from the China Iron and Steel Association showed that average daily crude steel production at its member mills stood at 1.97 million tonnes over Oct. 1-20, nearly matching September’s 1.98 million tonnes.
China’s winter heating season typically runs from mid-November through mid-March and the central government, as part of its anti-smog campaign, has allowed cities and provinces to set their own output restrictions this year, scrapping last season’s blanket curbs.
After falling as much as 1.5 percent to 3,878 yuan a tonne - the lowest since July 27 - the most-active January rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 1.2 percent at 3,986 yuan.
