SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures rebounded on Thursday, supported by a softer dollar and Australia supply worries, while investors looked for fresh developments surrounding the trade war between the United States and top consumer China.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) rose 1.12% to 815 yuan ($111.92) a metric ton by 0311 GMT, after closing lower on Wednesday.
The benchmark March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 1.74% higher at $105.6 a ton. Australia is in its hurricane season, and there is a risk of disruption in shipments, Chinese consultancy Hexun Futures said in a note. Rio Tinto, said on Tuesday it had begun clearing iron ore ships from two Western Australian ports as two tropical cyclones complicated its efforts to repair infrastructure damaged by a previous cyclone last month.
Rio’s port struggles could add a risk premium to iron ore prices, said an analyst. The Western Australia cyclone season typically occurs between November and April.
Related Post
Also providing some support to prices was a weaker U.S dollar, which slumped to an eight-week trough to the yen and lingered near a one-month low versus the sterling. A weaker dollar makes greenback-denominated commodities more affordable for overseas buyers. China filed a World Trade Organization complaint on Wednesday against US President Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff on Chinese imports and his cancellation of the “de minimis” exemption.
Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry urged for dialogue between the two countries. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal and coke up 1.44% and 0.87%, respectively. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained ground. Both rebar and wire rod were up nearly 0.4%, hot-rolled coil rose 0.5%, and stainless steel added 0.6%
Source: Brecorder
