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Iron Ore Steadies at $110 (Business Australian)


After a period of closely-watched volatility the iron ore price appears to have steadied at the $US110 mark, failing to chart a significant price movement in a week.

For the last five sessions, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China has traded in the tight range of between $US110.50 and $US110.70 a tonne.

Earlier this month, the price of iron ore charted its largest one-day price fall in more than four years on persistent fears over China's economy, dropping below the key $US105 a tonne threshold, after closing out the previous week at $US114.20 a tonne.

It was the prospect of weakness in the Chinese economy that seemed to drive the the price plunge at that time, and yet freshly sparked fears over the world's second largest economy appear to have been shrugged off by investors.

Yesterday, the HSBC China flash purchasing managers' index printed at an eight-month low in March.

The focus for investors has now shifted to the prospect of stimulus from Beijing. If Chinese policymakers step in shortly it would be viewed as a positive for the Australian economy and the local currency.