Benchmark iron ore contract on Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) rose 3.48 percent to 445.5 yuan/tonne by the end of Wednesday day session, following two days of high gains. The contract rose 3.16 percent and 3.34 percent, respectively, during the daytime sessions of Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the CIF price of imported 62-percent iron ore stood at 57.89 US dollars/tonne, up 2.39 percent from Monday, according to China Iron and Steel Association. GF Securities said in its latest note that the steel and iron ore prices in China are likely to grow 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in May.
The stock brokerage firm expects more construction work to bring about higher steel consumption in the coming days. Rebound of iron ore contracts has led higher the futures prices of products on the ferrous metal chain since April 21.
Quite a few investors expect Chinese steelworks to do more replenishment on iron ores in the near term, resulting in this round of price hike, said analyst Shi Yuchen with Guosen Securities. Monitoring by MySteel showed the operation rate of high furnaces in Tangshan, an important steel production base in north China, rose from 89.61 percent to 91.56 percent in April, indicating the steel production is rising again.
The bellwether rebar contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) edged up 0.37 percent during Wednesday day session, following two days of gains.
Latest comments