Prices of Dalian iron ore futures rose on Friday, but held nearly flat for the week as investors weighed resilient demand for the steelmaking ingredient in top consumer China against a persistent slump in the country’s property market.

The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 0.93% higher at 703 yuan ($97.85) a metric ton, and dipped 0.07% for the week.

The benchmark July iron ore (SZZFN5) on the Singapore Exchange traded 0.94% higher at $93.55 a ton as of 0708 GMT.

The contract eased 0.65% this week.

The operating rate of blast furnaces in China edged higher in the week ended June 20 to reach 83.82%, up some 0.4% from the previous week, according to data from consultancy Mysteel.

Mysteel data also showed how hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, inched up 0.24% week-on-week to 2.422 million tons, as of June 20.

“While demand is resilient now, the market’s main focus is whether off-season demand will continue to be priced into market trading,” said broker Galaxy Futures.

Spring is typically the peak season for construction in China ahead of the rainy season from June.

“Meaningful growth in steel and iron ore demand is unlikely until new construction activity lifts,” said ANZ analysts.

China’s new home prices fell in May, extending a two-year-long stagnation, official data showed on Monday.

Demand for new homes in China is likely to remain substantially below the market’s 2017 peak over the next few years, Goldman Sachs said late on Monday.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE gained ground, with coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1) up 1.08% and 1.21%, respectively.

Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange strengthened. Rebar RBF1! rose 0.23%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! was up 0.39%, wire rod (SWRcv1) gained around 0.3%, while stainless steel HRC1! shed 0.44%.
Source: Reuters