BEIJING: Iron ore futures prices rallied for a fourth straight session to hit a four-week high on Friday, on track for a weekly gain of more than 10%, underpinned by a number of interest rates cuts in top consumer China and expectations of fresh fiscal stimulus.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) climbed 4.24% to end morning trade at 753.5 yuan ($107.44) a metric ton, its highest level since Sept. 2. The contract has jumped 12.7% so far this week.
The benchmark October iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange jumped 4.09% to $102.55 a ton, as of 0342 GMT, its highest since Aug. 30. The contract is up 14.6% so far this week.
China’s central bank announced earlier on Friday to cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) - the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves - by 50 basis points, the second reduction this year aimed at bolstering faltering economic growth. It also lowered seven-day reverse repurchase agreements by 20 bps, effective from Friday. Also, Chinese leaders’ pledge on Thursday to deploy “necessary fiscal spending” to meet this year’s economic growth target of roughly 5% raised market expectations for fresh fiscal stimulus.
Additionally, China plans to issue special sovereign bonds worth about 2 trillion yuan this year as part of a fresh fiscal stimulus, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Analysts ascribed the aggressive stimulus package this week to the mounting pressure to achieve the annual growth target, following a string of disappointing economic data particularly in the third quarter.
China’s industrial profits swung back to a sharp contraction in August for their biggest decline this year, official data showed. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE climbed to multi-week highs, with coking coal and coke up 5.24% and 4.15%, respectively.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also logged gains. Rebar rose 2.7%, hot-rolled coil added 3.03%, stainless steel edged up 0.78% while wire rod lost 1.77%.
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