(Bloomberg) -- Iron ore swung between gains and losses as China signaled a deeper push to address its housing crisis, while two leading mining companies reported increased quarterly output and plans for further expansion.
Futures fluctuated around $106 a ton in Singapore after slumping 1.5% on Tuesday. China’s housing minister will hold a press briefing on Thursday, likely providing more details of measures to support the ailing property sector and bolster economic growth in the world’s largest importer.
Iron ore has shed more than a fifth this year as China’s slowdown, especially its prolonged property slump, prompted mills to cut steel production. In recent weeks, officials in Beijing have moved to draw a line under the economy’s travails, unleashing a series of stimulus measures from monetary to regulatory easing. That’s aided the steel-making material, although concerns remain about the impact of rising seaborne supplies.
On the production front, Brazil’s Vale SA said its most-recent quarter had the strongest supply level since the end of 2018, just before a dam collapse that snarled output. Volumes swelled to 91 million tons, outstripping the the 86.4 million ton average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
In Australia, Rio Tinto Group said quarterly shipments edged up 1% on-year. Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Jakob Stausholm said the company was on track for first production from its giant Simandou project next year.
Iron ore futures edged up 0.3% to $106.25 a ton at 1:44 p.m. in Singapore after tracking between a gain of 1.7% and loss of 0.7%.
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