Iron ore miners lift amid signals of potential Chinese construction recovery
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The news: ASX-listed iron ore miners gained in afternoon trading, tracking a rally in the steel ingredient’s price amid the release of data that signals China’s construction industry could be set to recover.
The numbers: Shares in iron ore and lithium miner Mineral Resources had increased in price by 4.3% to $25.66 at 2:42pm AEST.
Large diversified miners including BHP (up 1.1% to $38.26), Fortescue (up 2.3% to $16.56) and Rio Tinto (up 1.3% to $108.85) gained. Champion Iron’s share price was also up 2.4% to $4.44.
The price of iron ore index futures on the Singapore exchange was up 2.3% to USD98.30 ($150.13), continuing its rally since US President Donald Trump postponed the commencement of his global tariff regime to 1 August.
The context: Data collated by the China Machinery Association indicate that domestic excavator sales had picked up by 23% over the first half of calendar year 2025 when compared to the previous year.
Sales of the excavators typically pick up as construction developers prepare for projects in a sector that is considered a proxy for steel demand.
Macquarie analysts also expect BHP and Fortescue to beat market expectations for iron ore production for the second quarter of calendar year 2025.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto is expected to miss market expectations and Mineral Resources is expected to post a “small beat on iron ore”, according to the research note.
