Iron ore range-bound as investors digest mixed signals from China
By Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) -Prices of iron ore futures were range-bound on Monday, as investors and traders assessed mixed market signals from top consumer China following the end of its widely watched third plenum.
The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended morning trade 0.37% higher at 804 yuan ($110.55) a metric ton.
The benchmark August iron ore SZZFQ4 on the Singapore Exchange inched 0.2% lower at $104.3 a ton, as of 0442 GMT.
China on Monday lowered a key short-term policy rate and its benchmark lending rates in an attempt to boost growth, as the country is verging on deflation and faces a prolonged property crisis, surging debt and weak consumer and business sentiment.
The cuts come after China last week reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter economic data and its top leaders met for their third plenum.
The boost, however, failed to fully eradicate caution after the long-awaited Chinese policy update presented no major shift.
"The Third Plenum brought together China's leaders to map out the general direction of the country's long-term social and economic policies. But little was done to rectify weak economic growth," ANZ analysts said in a note.
Capping price gain of the key steelmaking ingredient is also the fact that major "producers are overcoming recent supply side issues to boost exports," ANZ analysts added.
Additionally, U.S. President Joe Biden decided to end his reelection campaign on Sunday, which investors said creates uncertainty and could roil global markets.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE lost ground, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 down 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange mostly posted marginal losses. Rebar SRBcv1 fell 0.14%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 ticked 0.25% lower, wire rod SWRcv1 shed 0.61%, while stainless steel SHSScv1 gained 0.76%.
($1 = 7.2726 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng and Amy Lv; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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