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%)

Chinese iron ore futures rebounded to close higher for a third straight session on Wednesday on optimism that further policy support will be rolled out to minimize the economic fallout from a global coronavirus outbreak.

The Dalian Commodity Exchange's most-traded May iron ore contract ended up 0.9% at 660 yuan ($95.13) a tonne, after falling 2.3% in the morning. Futures on the Singapore Exchange were 2.6% higher in afternoon trade.

Earlier in the session, Dalian iron ore was sold down as a steadily rising steel inventories in China, which accounts for more than half of the world's steel output, raised doubts over a recovery in demand for the steelmaking raw material.

China's central bank kept short-term borrowing costs steady on Wednesday despite an emergency policy rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, but markets widely expect Chinese authorities will eventually take more easing measures to prop up the economy.

As a new round of monetary easing globally has kicked off, a further interest rate cut in China is looming, said Helen Lau, a metals and mining analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong.

"As more and more countries are coordinating in monetary easing, China is provided more room to ease monetary policy," she said.

Beijing has already introduced policies to provide tax and financing support for businesses hit by the epidemic, but grim factory activity data released in recent days suggested the urgency of additional stimulus measures.

A more aggressive stimulus package could help fuel a recovery in steel demand in China's manufacturing and construction sectors after weeks of work stoppages and restrictions to contain the outbreak.

China's construction steel rebar inventory has piled up to a record high amid a slow recovery in demand, while stockpiles of hot-rolled coil, used in cars and home appliances, hit their highest in two years, based on industry data tracked by SteelHome consultancy.

High inventory and tepid demand have prompted many Chinese steel mills to curtail production.

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.2%, while hot-rolled coil gained 0.5%.

Stainless steel shed 1.3%. Other ferrous raw materials fell, with coking coal and coke both down 0.2%.

Copyright Reuters, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.