BEIJING, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Prices of iron ore futures climbed on Thursday, supported by reduced shipments from a major producer and growing expectations of continued rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 was up 0.64% at 787 yuan ($107.35) a metric ton, as of 0214 GMT. Earlier in the session, the contract touched 792 yuan a ton, its highest since Dec. 18.
The benchmark February iron ore SZZFG5 on the Singapore Exchange was trading 0.43% higher at $101 a ton, as of 0219 GMT. It touched the highest since Jan. 1 at $101.9 earlier in the day.
Leading iron ore supplier Rio Tinto RIO.AX, RIO.L on Thursday reported its lowest annual iron ore shipments in two years, partly as heavy rains in Western Australia impacted output in the December quarter.
Also providing some support to prices of the key steelmaking ingredient was a weaker U.S dollar =USD, which makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Additionally, the signs of possibly rising ore demand in the coming weeks supported prices, said analysts.
Boosting overall sentiment, Country Garden 2007.HK, once China's top developer by sales, announced it expects to report a narrower annual loss in 2024 as the struggling developer works to revive its business.
Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 up 1.52% and 1.65%, respectively.
Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ticked up. Rebar SRBcv1 added 0.33%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 advanced 0.44%, stainless steel SHSScv1 gained 0.11%, while wire rod SWRcv1 dropped 0.25%.
"The recent wave of prices gains mainly benefited from improved expectations for steel consumption boosted by the macro sentiment," said Zhuo Guiqiu, analyst at Jinrui Futures.
"The restocking expectations aggravated price volatility amid low steel inventories."
($1 = 7.3313 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson in Beijing; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((Amy.Lv@thomsonreuters.com;))
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