BEIJING: Iron ore futures extended gains on Thursday, underpinned by fresh support to top consumer China’s property sector, along with rising margins among steelmakers.

The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.51% higher at 738 yuan ($103.46) a metric ton, after rising to as high as 747 yuan a ton earlier in the session.

The contract is set to rise for a fourth consecutive session, and had rallied more than 4% on Wednesday.

The benchmark September iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.41% higher at $98.7 a ton, as of 0334 GMT, after touching an intraday of $99.9 a ton.

Commercial banks have approved 5,392 property projects under the “whitelist” program that aimed at injecting liquidity into China’s crisis-hit sector, with a financing amount totaling nearly 1.4 trillion yuan, an official told a press conference on Wednesday.

That has boosted market sentiment, together with the improved profitability among steelmakers, said analysts.

Additionally, China’s state planner has called for more investment in equipment upgrades to help support the energy transition. However, some analysts remained cautious on the sustainability of the price rebound.

Dalian iron ore extends rise on strengthening steel prices

“It’s normal to see a round of upward correction after a flurry of steep and smooth falls. But this does not necessarily mean that the conflict surrounding fundamentals of the ferrous market has been resolved,” said Jiang Mengtian, a Shanghai-based analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights.

“If there is no obvious improvement in demand, prices are likely to hit a new low in the reminder of the year.”

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE posted further gains, with coking coal and coke up 0.81% and 0.11%, respectively.

Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange broadly advanced, although at a slower pace.

Rebar added 0.41%, hot-rolled coil rose 0.46%, stainless steel climbed 0.33% while wire rod lost 0.25%.