Iron ore futures traded in a tight range on Tuesday, as investors weighed hopes of fresh stimulus from Beijing next month against signs of softening demand in top consumer China.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) 
TIO1! added 0.46% to 765 yuan ($107.40) a metric ton, as of 0235 GMT.
The benchmark December iron ore (SZZFZ5) on the Singapore Exchange fell 0.12% at $102.05 a ton as of 0225 GMT.
The recent price drop has triggered some divergence in market outlook, leading to a consolidation in prices, said Steven Yu, a senior analyst at consultancy Mysteel.
“Bulls believe an annual fall in the year-to-date crude steel output left less pressure on production cuts in the rest of the year; also there are hopes of stimulus measures to be unveiled in the politburo meeting in December,” Yu added.
China’s crude steel output fell 2.9% year-on-year in the first nine months through September, official data showed last month, with October figures due on Friday.
In March, Beijing pledged to restructure its vast steel industry through output cuts.
China has capped the annual crude steel output growth since 2021 as part of its carbon reduction goals.
Bears, however, are betting on lower demand as some mills continue to trim production, Mysteel’s Yu said.
Several steelmakers have scaled back output amid dwindling steel demand and persistently high raw materials costs that have squeezed margins.
Coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1), other steelmaking ingredients, were little changed.
Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed. Rebar 
RBF1! advanced 0.13%, hot-rolled coil EHR1! rose 0.52% while wire rod (SWRcv1) eased 0.03% and stainless steel 
HRC1! dipped 0.4%.
($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan)