AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

MANILA: China’s iron ore futures surged on Tuesday, with the benchmark Dalian price of the key steelmaking ingredient scaling a two-week high, after data showed factory activity in the world’s biggest steel producer unexpectedly expanded in February.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index remained above the 50-point mark last month, pointing to some resilience in the world’s second-largest economy despite downward pressure and global uncertainty amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The China market bounce was broad-based, with other ferrous materials also advancing following fresh pro-growth rhetoric from Beijing ahead of the annual Two Sessions meeting of its top legislative body beginning March 5, during which it will unveil economic targets for the year.

The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 5.3% to 736 yuan ($116.60) a tonne, its highest since Feb. 15, and following a 12.4% slump over the whole month of February.

On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore’s front-month April contract advanced by as much as 5.4% to $149.65 a tonne. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a media briefing on Tuesday that China saw some recovery momentum in consumption last month, and must “do everything possible” to spur consumption this year.

“We believe the Chinese government could try to achieve both of its main aims by building ‘green’ infrastructure, which both reduces carbon emissions and drives economic growth,” said Iris Pang, ING chief economist for Greater China, on what to expect from the Two Sessions. “In terms of monetary policy, we expect the government to describe its approach as ‘proactive and flexible’. In other words, China remains in easing mode,” she said in a note.

Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the morning trade up 2.8%, while hot-rolled coil climbed 3.7%. Stainless steel ticked up 0.3%. Dalian coking coal rose 4.5% and coke jumped 4.4%.

Comments

Comments are closed.