China ferrous futures rebound as Evergrande averts default
Prices for steel products and steelmaking ingredients on China’s commodity futures bourses surged on Thursday, following reports that China Evergrande Group 3333.HK had made coupon payments to bondholders, averting a destabilising default.
Traders’ concerns over China’s debt-laden property sector had recently weighed on prices of steel and iron ore, which were already under pressure due to weak domestic demand for the materials.
Several bondholders of Evergrande have received coupon payments from the indebted property developer, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
The most-traded construction steel rebar for January delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 hit the daily 8% upside limit, before ending daytime trading 7.4% higher at 4,443 yuan ($695.13) a tonne, extending an overnight rally along with iron ore.
The most-active January iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 advanced 6.8% to 570.50 yuan a tonne, bouncing off Wednesday’s one-year low.
On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore’s front-month December contract was up 4.9% at $92.20 a tonne by 0721 GMT.
“Prices rebounded later in (Wednesday’s) session after Evergrande was said to have made payment on at least two bonds,” said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ.
Hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 also rose as much as 8%.
Other steelmaking inputs also rebounded after recent sell-offs, with Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 rising 6.2% and coke DCJcv1 gaining 6.8%.
Shanghai stainless steel SHSScv1 was virtually flat though.
Weak demand and rising portside stockpiles, however, continued to weigh on spot iron ore prices in China, the world’s top steel producer, with the benchmark 62% grade hitting an 18-month low of $90 a tonne on Wednesday, SteelHome consultancy data showed.
“We expect iron ore prices to find a floor around current levels. But constraints on China’s steel output are likely to remain until after the Beijing Winter Olympics (in February), so the upside looks limited in the short-term,” Hynes said.
Source: Reuters
