Dalian iron ore posts weekly gain on China stimulus hopes, upbeat steel demand outlook
Updates closing prices
By Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE, Sept 13 (Reuters) -Dalian iron ore futures prices dipped on Friday but logged a weekly rise, as the prospect of fresh Chinese stimulus and a recovery in steel demand lifted market sentiment amid the top consumer's faltering economic recovery.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 0.29% lower at 694.0 yuan ($97.72) a metric ton. The contract gained 1.76% for the week.
The benchmark October iron ore SZZFV4 on the Singapore Exchange fell 2.17% to $92.7 a ton, as of 0726 GMT.
China is poised to cut interest rates on more than $5 trillion of outstanding mortgages as early as this month, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
"We would not expect anywhere close to a 1:1 transmission into retail sales, given consumer confidence is near all-time lows and households' willingness to save was near historic highs. Nonetheless, it is a significant move that should provide real tangible benefits to households and support consumption," ING analysts said in a note.
Housing price data expected on Saturday will be scrutinised closely for signs of stabilisation, ING said.
Meanwhile, inventories of five major finished steel products held by Chinese traders decreased for a ninth consecutive week over Sept. 6-12 to nearly eight-month lows, data from Chinese consultancy Mysteel showed.
The 6.3% week-on-week fall reflected further improvement in spot trading and a modest rise in replenishment needs among end-users before China's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, said Mysteel.
Chinese markets will be closed on Sept. 16-17 for the holiday and resume trading on Sept. 18.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE extended gains, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 up 0.2% and 1.39%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were stronger. Hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 climbed 1.06%, rebar SRBcv1 advanced about 1.0%, wire rod SWRcv1 added 0.55% and stainless steel SHSScv1 edged 0.04% higher.
($1 = 7.1022 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Rashmi Aich
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