Iron ore reaches 3-month high as demand for real estate improves

(Reuters) – Iron ore futures rose to a three-month high on Monday, as investors welcomed China’s latest support measures for the crisis-hit local real estate sector, which represents an important part of demand for iron ore.
The most traded iron ore for September on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed 1.1% higher at 894.50 yuan ($123.72) per ton.
At the beginning of the session, the contract rose 2.4% to 906 yuan, the highest value since February 20.

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On Friday, China announced “historic” measures to stabilize its real estate sector, with the central bank facilitating an additional trillion yuan in financing and easing mortgage rules, and local governments prepared to buy “a small number” of apartments.
Iron ore and steel are widely used in the construction sector and China is the largest consumer of these commodities in the world.
Benchmark June iron ore on the Singapore Stock Exchange rose 1.4% to $119 a tonne.
Gains in other metals such as copper and gold, which both reached record levels on Monday, also boosted sentiment among traders trading the iron complex, a trader said.
With China’s steelmaking margin remaining in negative territory, raw material prices are likely to fall soon as steelmakers start putting pressure on their suppliers, the trader added.
China’s crude steel production in the first four months of 2024 fell by 3% from the previous year, and one analyst expects this year’s annual production not to exceed the 2023 level.
The latest set of Chinese data on the real estate sector showed that demand remained weak.