Chinese iron ore futures rose for the fourth straight session on Friday and jumped more than 4%, fueled by demand hopes as Beijing pledged to step up policy support to stabilize the economy.
A Politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on Friday said China would adopt a package of policies to help pandemic-hit industries, stepping up infrastructure construction and back healthy development of the property market.
Futures prices of steelmaking ingredients and construction materials advanced following the report, with benchmark iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange surging 4.2% to 870 yuan ($132.05) a tonne at the close.
Coking coal futures for September delivery rebounded from losses in the morning session, inching up 0.9% to 2,853 yuan per tonne. Dalian coke prices increased 2.1% to 3,625 yuan a tonne.
China said on Thursday it would cut import tariffs for all types of coal to zero, in an effort to ensure energy security amid soaring global prices and supply disruption concerns.
However, the move is seen to have limited impact on cutting import costs, analysts with SinoSteel Futures said, noting that renminbi’s recent depreciation could offset falling import costs from the new policy.
Steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery, closed up 1.6% at 4,910 yuan a tonne. Hot rolled coils used in the manufacturing sector gained 1.5% to 4,996 yuan per tonne.
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Rebar and hot rolled coils fell 3% and 4.4%, respectively, in April hurt by sluggish consumption due to the pandemic and transportation disruptions.
Apparent demand for major steel products gradually recovered since mid-April and stood at 10.35 million tonnes this week, according to Reuters calculations based on production and inventory data from Mysteel consultancy.
Shanghai stainless steel futures for June delivery dipped 0.6% to 19,360 yuan a tonne on Friday, down 3.9% for the month.
