Iron ore price rises as China cuts lending benchmarks

The iron ore price rose on Tuesday after China cut benchmark lending rates and lowered the mortgage reference by a bigger margin in a move to support its property market.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $102.18 a tonne Tuesday morning, up 1.8%.

China’s property market crisis is testing whether central bank Governor Yi Gang can stick to his stimulus-lite strategy.

Over the past couple of weeks, Yi has cut key lending rates, announced special loans to struggling property developers via policy banks, and urged state-owned lenders to extend more credit. Meantime, speculation of a cut to reserve requirement ratios grows. 

China’s real-estate slump, however, shows little sign of improvement.