Chinese iron ore futures climbed about 4 percent to three-week highs on Monday, in line with sharp gains across China-traded commodities after the country's factory sector expanded in June for the first time in six months. The HSBC/Markit Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.8 in June from 49.4 in May, offering new signs the world's No 2 economy is stabilising as Beijing moves to shore up growth.
Along with iron ore futures, prices of copper and rubber in Shanghai also rose sharply, aided by hopes a stronger economy would boost China's appetite for raw materials. The PMI reading for June suggests "that the government's latest targeted measures, including tax breaks, reserve requirement cuts, export rebates, have started to take effect in supporting small enterprises", Barclays economist Jian Chang said in a note.
Barclays has raised its 2014 gross domestic product growth forecast for China to 7.4 percent from 7.2 percent. The most-traded iron ore contract for delivery in September on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 3.9 percent to a session high of 699 yuan ($110) a tonne, its loftiest since May 29. It closed up 2.7 percent at 691 yuan.
Iron ore futures in Singapore also advanced. The July iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.7 percent to $94.40 a tonne. Some Chinese mills picked up iron ore cargoes following the recent steep falls in prices, but they were opting for smaller purchases, traders said.
"Mills are buying in small quantities, they don't want to have too much inventory because more and more cargoes are coming," said a trader in Shanghai. Global miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group are making deeper cuts in prices of low-grade iron ore cargoes to China, as competition heats up in the world's top buyer amid rising supply. The move underscores the iron ore market's move into surplus as big producers, such as Rio and BHP Billiton, ramp up output, overwhelming demand growth in China.
Stocks of imported iron ore across 44 Chinese ports stood at 113.65 million tonnes as of June 20, trumping the previous record of 113.60 million tonnes reached in end-May, based on data from industry consultancy Steelhome. China, which buys about two-thirds of the world's iron ore, imported 382.7 million tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 19 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China rose 1.5 percent to $92.10 a tonne on Friday, according to data compiler Steel Index. The price has rebounded since hitting a 21-month low of $89 on June 16, but is still down more than 31 percent for the year.
Along with iron ore futures, prices of copper and rubber in Shanghai also rose sharply, aided by hopes a stronger economy would boost China's appetite for raw materials. The PMI reading for June suggests "that the government's latest targeted measures, including tax breaks, reserve requirement cuts, export rebates, have started to take effect in supporting small enterprises", Barclays economist Jian Chang said in a note.
Barclays has raised its 2014 gross domestic product growth forecast for China to 7.4 percent from 7.2 percent. The most-traded iron ore contract for delivery in September on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 3.9 percent to a session high of 699 yuan ($110) a tonne, its loftiest since May 29. It closed up 2.7 percent at 691 yuan.
Iron ore futures in Singapore also advanced. The July iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.7 percent to $94.40 a tonne. Some Chinese mills picked up iron ore cargoes following the recent steep falls in prices, but they were opting for smaller purchases, traders said.
"Mills are buying in small quantities, they don't want to have too much inventory because more and more cargoes are coming," said a trader in Shanghai. Global miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group are making deeper cuts in prices of low-grade iron ore cargoes to China, as competition heats up in the world's top buyer amid rising supply. The move underscores the iron ore market's move into surplus as big producers, such as Rio and BHP Billiton, ramp up output, overwhelming demand growth in China.
Stocks of imported iron ore across 44 Chinese ports stood at 113.65 million tonnes as of June 20, trumping the previous record of 113.60 million tonnes reached in end-May, based on data from industry consultancy Steelhome. China, which buys about two-thirds of the world's iron ore, imported 382.7 million tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 19 percent from a year earlier, customs data showed.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China rose 1.5 percent to $92.10 a tonne on Friday, according to data compiler Steel Index. The price has rebounded since hitting a 21-month low of $89 on June 16, but is still down more than 31 percent for the year.