Iron ore futures rally

Spot prices of the steelmaking ingredient also rallied this week, scaling a five-month peak as traders brushed aside concerns about surging Covid-19 infections across China. But it was set to mark its weakest year-end level in three years.

The most-traded May iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 2.2% to 858 yuan ($123.29) a tonne, its strongest since June 10. On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore’s benchmark January contract gained 0.7% to $115.95 a tonne, its loftiest since late July.

Spot 62%-grade iron ore jumped to $116 a tonne on Thursday, the highest since early August, SteelHome consultancy data showed.

After scaling this year’s peak at $163 in March driven by China’s easing of pandemic restrictions and economic stimulus measures, iron ore retreated in recent months and collapsed to $80 levels in November, dragged down by Beijing’s draconian “zero-COVID” policy and a property sector downturn.