Iron ore prices traded on the Singapore Exchange continued to rise for the fourth consecutive day during Friday’s session, exceeding $100 per ton, supported by the monetary easing measures that China began implementing this week.
Singapore iron ore futures prices rose by 3.68% to $102.15 per ton at 12:27 p.m. Mecca time, extending its gains over the course of this week to more than 11%.
The People’s Bank of China announced last Tuesday an expanded package of monetary easing measures, which began to be implemented the following day and until Friday, and the measures implemented so far include cutting some key interest rates, as well as the legal reserve ratio for banks.
In addition, the policy committee of the ruling Communist Party held an extraordinary meeting yesterday, led by President Xi Jinping, during which it pledged to strengthen fiscal policy measures and make efforts to revive the real estate sector.
These Chinese moves have supported the prices of basic metals, including iron ore, which is used in the steel industry, a sector that has suffered in the post-pandemic period due to the slow pace of the Chinese economy’s recovery.