SINGAPORE, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures rose on Tuesday as traders
weighed China's latest wave of disappointing data against the outlook for
rising imports and pressure on Beijing for more stimulus.
The most-traded January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended
daytime trade 1.6% higher at 740 yuan ($101.67) per metric ton, rallying for a
fourth straight day.
On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark September iron ore rose 0.6% to $101 a
metric ton, as of 0730 GMT.
China's crude steel output in July eased 0.34% from the prior month, the
statistics bureau said on Tuesday, amid production restrictions in Tangshan
city in northern China and Sichuan province in the southwest.
July industrial output and retail sales growth slowed and undershot forecasts.
Gains were also capped as property investment in China extended its fall for
the 17th consecutive month in July, and home sales slumped amid a deepening
debt crisis, especially at real estate giant Country Garden.
Adding to contagion fears, a major Chinese trust company that traditionally had
sizable exposure to real estate, Zhongrong International Trust Co, missed its
repayment obligations on some investment products.
Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday even after the central bank unexpectedly cut key
policy rates to support growth.
Still, commodity analysts Kpler and Refinitiv are estimating that China's
August iron ore imports will top 100 million metric tons, for the first time
since 100.23 million were imported in March.
Iron ore exports from 19 ports and 16 mining companies in Australia and Brazil
reversed from the prior week's slump and jumped 3 million metric tons, or 13.1%
week-on-week, to reach 25.8 million tons during Aug. 7-13, Mysteel's latest
survey found.
The most-active rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange inched up 1%,
hot-rolled coil rose 0.6%, wire rod increased 0.5%, and stainless steel climbed
0.8%.
Dalian coking coal and coke grew 0.6% and 1.3%, respectively.
(Reporting by Carman Chew; Editing by Eileen Soreng)