Iron ore rallies back above US$100 as China’s shift boosts outlook

IRON ore headed for the biggest weekly gain since April – with futures topping US$100 a tonne – after policymakers in China unveiled a blitz of initiatives to support growth in the largest user of the steel-making ingredient.

Futures gained for a fourth day in Singapore, and are up more than 11 per cent this week, joining a broad rally that has lifted most risk assets including many commodities.

On Tuesday (Sep 24), the People’s Bank of China announced a slew of measures to aid the economy, including the steel-intensive property sector. That was followed on Thursday by a report that the 24-man Politburo concluded with a promise to strive to achieve the country’s annual economic goals.

The week’s surge has pared a quarterly loss fuelled by concerns that China’s slowdown – especially the drag from a drawn-out property crisis – was hurting demand for steel. The nation’s mills had sounded the alarm about increasingly tough conditions, spurring expectations that Beijing would respond by doing more to support the economy.

Futures rose 3.5 per cent to US$101.95 a tonne at 2.24 pm in Singapore, on course for the highest close since August. In China, yuan-priced contracts climbed in Dalian, while steel futures gained in Shanghai. BLOOMBERG