Chinese
iron ore futures picked up on Tuesday, fueled by demand hopes after the
world’s second-biggest economy reported an unexpected growth in its
factory activities in March.
China’s
official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 52 this month from a
record low in February, beating analysts’ expectations of 45.0, the
National Bureau of Statistics said.
Meanwhile,
iron ore stockpiles at China’s ports dropped for a second straight week
and fell to 121.25 million tonnes as of Mar. 27, the lowest level in
nearly eight months.
That
helped the Dalian Commodity Exchange’s most-traded May iron ore futures
contract gain as much as 1.5%, before ending 0.9% up at 650.5 yuan
($91.77) per tonne.
However,
the statistics bureau said it is still uncertain whether the domestic
economy has picked up after the coronavirus hit.
“The
companies’ production resumption had not yet returned to the level
before the coronavirus,” the statistics bureau said in a statement along
with the data, adding that the globally spreading epidemic had brought new
challenges to the country’s economy.
Construction
steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for May delivery, fell 4% in
the first quarter of 2020. It closed down 0.15% at 3,406 yuan per tonne on
Tuesday.
Hot-rolled
coil futures also edged down 0.1% to 3,252 yuan per tonne. It plunged 8.9%
in the first three months of this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
*
Spot prices of the benchmark 62% iron-content ore, as tracked by SteelHome
consultancy, fell for the third straight session to $84.5 per tonne on
Monday.
*
Other steelmaking ingredients were mixed, with Dalian coking coal, for May
delivery, gaining 1.2% to 1,261 yuan per tonne, while Dalian coke is down
0.7% to 1,764 yuan per tonne.
*
Shanghai stainless steel futures, for June delivery, rose 0.3% to 11,980
yuan per tonne.
*
Volkswagen expects vehicle sales in China to quadruple in March, pointing
to a recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.
*
China’s Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday the country would step up
prevention and control of asymptomatic coronavirus cases and strengthen
screening, quarantine and treatment.
*
Russian steelmaker Severstal said on Monday that one of its employees was
confirmed to have the coronavirus.
Source:
Reuters
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