China: Steel futures soar on improving demand, falling inventory

Steel futures (re-bar and HRC) trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) increased by 2.6%, d-o-d, on the back of rising downstream steel demand amidst falling inventory in China. Meanwhile, iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange remained largely stable, while on the Singapore Exchange futures dipped 0.9%. Closing prices of the most-traded ferrous futures contracts:

• DCE iron ore futures Jan’22 contract closed at RMB 835/t ($129) (-RMB 5)
• SGX iron ore futures Oct contract closed at $154.55/t (-1.39)
• SHFE rebar futures Jan’22 contract closed at RMB 5,354/t ($828) (+RMB 132)
• SHFE HRC futures Jan’22 contract closed at RMB 5,637/t ($872) (+RMB 142)