Iron ore price rises on stimulus rates and low inventories

Iron ore prices continued higher on Friday, bolstered by growing hopes for stimulus measures in China after weaker export data and lower inventories at both mills and ports.

Benchmark 62 percent Fe fines imported into northern China changed hands at $116.52 a ton on Friday morning, up 4.25%, according to Fastmarkets MB.
The best-selling September iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended in afternoon trading up 2.54% to 849 yuan ($119.02) per metric ton, the highest since March 17.

Benchmark August iron ore on the Singapore Exchange rose 3.58% to $113.85 a metric ton as of 0725 GMT, the highest since April 11.

China's exports fell last month at the fastest pace since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

Iron ore rose in tandem with hopes that Beijing will provide more economic assistance to the beleaguered real estate sector as investors shrugged off disappointing trade data, analysts at the National Bank of Australia said in a note.

Meanwhile, iron ore inventories at the 247 steel mills surveyed fell 1.3% on the week to 85.22 million metric tons as of July 14, while inventories at the 45 ports surveyed declined for the fourth straight week by 1.1% on the week to 124 .95 million tons. metric tons, data from consulting firm Mysteel showed.

A weaker US dollar following better-than-expected economic data also helped push prices higher.