SINGAPORE: Iron ore futures prices traded within a narrow range on Tuesday as investors assessed a slew of softer economic data in China, after the top consumer’s latest stimulus measures under whelmed and took the wind out of markets in the previous session.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded 0.07% lower at 763.5 yuan ($105.58) a metric ton, as of 0250 GMT.
The contract had slumped by as much as 3.5% to a two-week low of 754.0 yuan in the previous session. The benchmark December iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.16% lower at $100.5 a ton.
New bank lending in China tumbled more than expected to a three-month low in October, data showed on Monday, as a ramp-up of policy stimulus to buttress a wavering economy failed to boost credit demand. The world’s second-largest economy had unveiled a 10 trillion yuan debt package on Friday to ease local government financing strains and stabilise flagging economic growth, as it faces fresh pressure from the re-election of Donald Trump as US president. “A lack of further support for China’s property market weighed on the iron ore market and was exacerbated by signs of weak demand,” said ANZ analysts in a note.