Iron ore is still going great guns after confounding the market sceptics last year
Singapore/Shanghai — Iron ore’s bullish momentum has continued into 2017 as prices rally to a two-year high amid speculation that China’s demand for overseas ore will hold up even as the world’s largest miners bring on new capacity. Ore with 62% content in Qingdao in China climbed 3.9% to $83.65 a dry metric ton, according to Metal Bulletin. The commodity has risen 6.1% so far this year after surging more than 80% last year. Iron ore has more than doubled since bottoming in December 2015 amid better-than-expected consumption in China after government stimulus. The latest upswing is supported by signs that policy makers in the world’s top steel-making country are redoubling their efforts to clamp down on outdated mill capacity, lifting steel prices and buttressing iron ore. The advance came even as banks, including Barclays, outline the case for weaker prices later in the year, and as Brazil’s Vale starts up output at its largest mine. "One of the major factors driving iron-ore price...
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