Holiday shutdowns aside, there is a resounding negativity around the strength of underlying demand

摘要

Excluding some short-lived price volatility for iron ore in the last couple of days, the approach of Chinese New Year has brought relative quiet to the markets, as consumption ramped down. Holiday shutdowns aside, there is a resounding negativity around the strength of underlying demand, given concerns around the property sector, and hopes of any uptick in demand postholiday have been tempered compared to previous years. Rumours of a stimulus package have been circulating in recent days but whether the government will step in is still unclear. This is a critical factor for raw materials markets in the short-term, with speculation the main game changer rather than an immediate increase in real demand in this time scale.