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Iron ore gains from bets on more China stimulus and improved steel margins

Iron ore futures reached their highest level in more than a week Thursday. This was boosted by expectations for further monetary ease in China, the top consumer, and improved profitability at certain steelmakers.

The May contract for iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the morning trading session 1.69% higher, at 841 Yuan ($116.83), its highest level since March. 11.

As of 0456 GMT the benchmark April iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange rose 3.29% to $109.2 per ton. This was partly due to an improved risk appetite following the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement that it would make three rate reductions this year. The futures reached an intra-day peak of $110.5 per ton. This is their highest level since March 11

China's Central Bank said Thursday that it has ample flexibility in its monetary policy to reduce the banks' reserve requirements ratio (RRR), which reinforces market expectations of further easing measures.

The price of the main steelmaking ingredient is also supported by the hope that demand will increase in the next few weeks.

Analysts at Hongyuan Futures wrote in a report that "margins among blast-furnace based steelmakers improved recently, which could encourage mills stockpile raw material."

Analysts at ANZ believe that prices could be approaching a bottom due to a reset of demand expectations. The sluggish demand in the property sector is being countered with a robust demand from all other sectors.

They added that the continued production restrictions among some steelmakers because of a sluggish demand for steel remained a major obstacle.

A survey by consultancy Mysteel on Wednesday showed that seven steelmakers in southwest regions of Sichuan, Chongqing and other areas temporarily stopped production. Others delayed their restarts.

In recent weeks, some steel associations from provinces have urged local mills on a voluntary basis to reduce production.

Coking coal and coke both remained unchanged, while coking coal declined by 0.61%.

The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have also been moving sideways. Rebar gained 0.92%; hot-rolled coil grew 0.71%; wire rod was unchanged, while stainless steel fell 0.62%. $1 = 7.1986 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Dhanya An Thoppil; Amy Lv, Zsastee Villanueva)

(source: Reuters)