Iron ore prices moved in a tight range on Thursday, as
investors weighed higher costs from the prolonged Iran war
against the prospects of a growing supply of the key steelmaking
ingredient.
The most-traded iron ore contract on China’s Dalian
Commodity Exchange (DCE) traded little changed at
785.5 yuan ($115.05) a metric ton, as of 0212 GMT.
The benchmark May iron ore on the Singapore
Exchange was 0.18% lower at $107.1 a ton, as of 0102 GMT. It hit
the highest level since March 30 at $107.5 earlier in the
session.
The Singapore benchmark has stayed well above a key
psychological level of $100 for more than six weeks.
Iran said it had captured two container ships seeking to exit
the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after firing on
them and another vessel, casting clouds on prospects of another
round of US-Iran peace talks.
The Iran war has sent energy prices surging, lifting freight
and input costs, which have provided some support to iron ore
prices, analysts said.
That said, the anticipation of rising supply curbed upside
in ore prices.
BHP Group’s third-quarter iron ore output beat
expectations, and its resolution on a months-long supply
contract dispute with China raised prospects of potentially more
shipments to the world’s largest consumer.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto , the world’s largest iron
ore supplier, maintained its 2026 Pilbara iron ore sales
forecast at 323 million to 338 million tons while flagging
potential supply chain risks due to the Middle East conflict.
Coking coal and coke, other steelmaking
ingredients, rose 0.43% and 1.03%, respectively.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained
ground. Rebar added 0.35%, hot-rolled coil
advanced 0.68%, wire rod ticked up 0.61% and stainless
steel edged up 0.27%.