China's iron ore futures extended gains for the sixth straight session on Thursday, as the government pledged to implement monetary and fiscal policies to refuel the slowing economy. China's cabinet, the State Council, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, said on Wednesday China would use both broad and targeted reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts for banks "in a timely manner", and ramp up support for the real economy. The most-active iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at 647 yuan, up 1.2% from Wednesday.

Benchmark 62% iron ore for delivery to China, as assessed by SteelHome consultancy, held its ground at $91 a tonne on Wednesday. The most-traded construction steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, edged up 0.7% to 3,439 yuan a tonne.

"Increased government support from monetary and fiscal sides would be both positive to steel production and coking coal demand," Argonaut Securities said in a note.

Dalian coking coal, for January 2020 delivery, gained 1.1% to 1,328 yuan a tonne.

Hot-rolled coil, steel used in cars and home appliances, dipped 0.4% to 3,442 yuan a tonne. Other steelmaking ingredient, coke futures rose 0.9% to 1,918 yuan.

China expects its exports to rise slightly in August as shippers raced to beat new US tariffs but imports contracted for a fourth consecutive month, a Reuters poll showed.

The Commerce Department of United States announced on Wednesday it imposed duties on Chinese and Mexican structural steel by up to 141% and up to 31%, respectively.

Copyright Reuters, 2019