On Monday, futures in Singapore rose 3.2% to US$99.30 ($129.33) a tonne by 12.01pm local time. They gained 4.5% last week.
Still, the broader outlook for China’s steel sector remains highly uncertain amid a beleaguered property sector and a government-led shift to new growth sectors. Traders are monitoring whether steel production starts to pick up again after recent declines, as July and August are typically the weakest season for steel production.
Output at blast furnaces “has shown signs of bottoming out recently,” Huatai Futures wrote in an emailed note, which also said that iron ore inventories remained relatively high.
Base metals also gained on Monday on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, with aluminum hitting its highest since July 16. The London Metal Exchange wasn’t trading due to a UK public holiday.
