Holding Recent Ranges, Up Strongly For April, Steel PMI Rises

The active iron ore contract in Singapore continues to track recent ranges. We were last near $116/ton. We haven't spent too much time outside of the $115/$120 range for the second half of April. We sit comfortably up for the month though, +17% firmer for April, the first monthly gain for 2024.

• Steel activity recovered some ground according to the industry PMI. We rose to 47.9, so while still in contraction territory it is the highest reading in 5 months. Output and new orders were up firmly on March readings as well. Broader manufacturing PMIs for April painted a resilient backdrop for the sector as well.
• We are coming into the seasonally strong construction period for China. Still, iron ore inventories at China ports remain in an uptrend.
• Optimism around easier local housing market settings has been doing the rounds in onshore media, see our China press summary today for details. This has aided local real estate stocks, although iron ore is already at levels that suggests some optimism around the outlook.