Chinese steel futures jumped for a fourth straight session on Thursday, hitting fresh six-week highs, amid falling inventories, sweeping raw materials futures higher.

Stocks of rebar, a construction steel product, among Chinese traders reached 3.35 million tonnes on Nov. 24, the lowest since at least 2011, according to data tracked by SteelHome consultancy.

The most-active May rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 3.10 percent at 4,020 yuan ($608.52) a tonne by 0227 GMT.

Iron ore for May delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose nearly 2 percent to 515 yuan per tonne, the highest price since Sept. 20.

Dalian coking coal followed steel and iron ore higher, gaining 3.14 percent, its strongest showing since Sept. 15.

While Chinese traders have been active in recent weeks, Indian steel mills have now emerged as keen buyers as inventories hit low levels, according to ANZ Bank.

“The tightness in the seaborne market continues to be driven by production issues in Australia, however, demand in China has also been strong,” it said.

Coke was up just under 3 percent at 2,136 yuan a tonne.

 

Source:in.reuters.com

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