Iron ore futures strengthened on Wednesday, underpinned by resilient seasonal demand for the key steelmaking ingredient that countered trade war concerns ahead of looming U.S. tariffs.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.09% higher at 791.5 yuan ($108.87) a metric ton.
The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore Exchange eased 0.14% to $102.75 a ton as of 0707 GMT.
Steel production is increasing overall, rising higher than last year, said broker Galaxy Futures.
Production at Chinese blast furnace steelmakers rose for the fifth consecutive week on March 27, driven by a further recovery in steel demand from end-users and positive margins for mills, said consultancy Mysteel.
Considering the PMI of the manufacturing industry in March, demand for industrial steel will continue to be high in April, said broker Hexun Futures.
China’s factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in March, buoyed by stronger demand and robust export orders, boosting sentiment.
Total iron ore stockpiles across ports in China dipped 0.65% week-on-week to 137.6 million tons as of March 28, Steelhome data showed.
U.S. President Donald Trump will impose fresh tariffs on Wednesday, the White House confirmed on Tuesday, but provided no details about the size and scope of the trade barriers.
The announcement is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).
On the supply side, the total volume of iron ore dispatched to global destinations from Australia and Brazil rose 5.3% on-week to 26.5 million tons as of March 30, Mysteel said.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) rising 0.1% and 0.65%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed. Rebar RBF1! rose 0.32%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! gained 0.24%, wire rod (SWRcv1) added about 0.9% and stainless steel HRC1! advanced 0.71%.
Source: Reuters
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