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Iron ore rebounds on improving steel margins, falling portside stocks

Iron ore futures prices rebounded on Monday, assisted by improving steel margins, falling portside stocks and stimulus hopes in leading customer China, although gains were limited by seasonally slow need.

The most-traded May iron ore agreement on China's Dalian Product Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 0.91%. higher at 775 yuan ($ 106.18) a metric heap. It fell 1.8% last. week.

The benchmark January iron ore on the Singapore. Exchange climbed up 1.98% to $100.8 a load by 0321 GMT. Earlier in. the day, it slid to a low of $98.95 a ton.

The Dalian agreement has declined 16.4% so far this year,. while the Singapore agreement has fallen 19%.

Hot metal output will likely fall further in January, though. the decline is not expected to be big considered that steel mills. could still generate income, experts at Everbright Futures stated in a. note.

Hot metal output is generally used to determine iron ore demand.

Information from consultancy Mysteel showed that 49.78% of the. steelmakers surveyed were operating at a revenue, as of Dec. 26,. up from 48.48% in the previous week.

Currently, the divergence on market outlook is likely to. expand, however an increasing trend might sustain, experts at Galaxy. Futures stated in a note.

Portside stocks extended falls, which will likely continue. as major miners sluggish deliveries and (ore) demand stays. resilient (in spite of some falls).

Iron ore stocks at significant ports slipped for a 2nd straight. week, down by 0.6% to 146.85 million tons in the week to Dec. 27, data from consultancy Steelhome revealed. Nevertheless, the level. was still 28.3% higher than the year-earlier period.

Other steelmaking active ingredients on the DCE made headway, with. coking coal and coke up 1.01% and 0.06%,. respectively.

The majority of steel standards on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. ticked greater. Rebar advanced 0.58%, hot-rolled coil. rose 0.32%, stainless steel edged up 0.23%,. while wire rod fell 0.17%.

(source: Reuters)