China: Iron ore futures climb on lower port stocks

Iron ore futures in China strengthened subsequent to eruption of availability concerns, as port stocks of the steelmaking raw material slumped to an eight-month low. The most-active iron ore contract for Sept’21 delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 1%, while steel futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) remained volatile. Closing prices of the most-traded ferrous futures on 28 Jun were:

• DCE iron ore futures Sept contract closed at RMB 1,196/t ($185) (+RMB 11)
• SGX iron ore futures Jul contract closed at $212.9/t (+0.5)
• SHFE rebar futures Oct contract closed at RMB 5,070/t ($785) (+RMB 4)
• SHFE HRC futures Oct contract closed at RMB 5,325/t ($825) (+RMB 37)