Iron-ore fluctuates as Fortescue’s Forrest stays upbeat on China
Iron-ore swung between gains and losses on market uncertainty around steel output cuts and as industry stalwart Andrew Forrest expressed hope that China is serious about supporting its economy.
Futures of the steelmaking ingredient were little changed at $101.50 a ton, after earlier rising as much as 0.8%. Prices have been buffeted this month by rumors of steel output cuts and US tariff announcements and are almost flat this year after losing more than a quarter in 2024.
Forrest, the billionaire founder and chairman of no. 4 iron-ore miner Fortescue, painted a mixed picture on the outlook. He said that while tariffs were a “sugar-hit” and not a good trend for the economy, he was optimistic about China’s ability to reboot its economy after meeting with Premier Li Qiang.
“China’s message is that it’s going to stay the course,” Forrest said from the Boao Forum in Hainan province on Wednesday, when asked about domestic consumption and end-demand for steel. “It’s very serious about building its economy.”
Singapore futures slipped 0.1% to $101.50 a ton at 11:33 a.m. local time. Yuan-priced futures on the Dalian exchange rose, while steel contracts in Shanghai were mixed.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation