Chinese iron ore prices rise for 4th day, steel drops further
Iron ore prices in China rose on Friday, with the benchmark futures contract extending a modest rally into a fourth session after some steel mills were reportedly allowed to resume sintering operations.
But steel futures dropped further, with construction steel rebar on track to post its first weekly loss in four weeks and the second so far this year, as concerns persist over a weak demand outlook amid high Chinese output.
The May 2019 iron ore contract, the most active on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, rose as much as 1.7 percent to 628 yuan ($93.33) a tonne.
Spot iron ore for delivery to China SH-CCN-IRNOR62, with 62 percent iron content, rose for a second day on Thursday to $87 a tonne from $85.50 the day before, according to SteelHome consultancy.
“The Chinese steel hub of Tangshan removed emergency restrictions on sinter plants, which had been in place since the start of the month,” ANZ said in a note.
Tangshan had last week extended a level 1 smog alert that was due to be lifted on March 6 due to unfavourable weather. That level is the highest in China’s four-tier pollution warning system.
