Iron ore rangebound as investors weigh upbeat China data against tariff woes

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures prices traded within a narrow range on Monday, as investors weighed upbeat data from top consumer China against demand concerns caused by the intensifying trade conflict between Washington and Beijing.

The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended morning trade flat at 704 yuan ($96.34) a metric ton.

The benchmark May iron ore SZZFK5 on the Singapore Exchange held its ground at $97.15 a ton, as of 0433 GMT.

Analysts had expected the Chinese government to roll out more stimulus to shield it from the hefty tariffs imposed by the U.S. President Donald Trump, but better-than-expected loan data kept those hopes on check.

New bank loans in China rebounded more than expected in March, recovering from a sharp drop the previous month, as policymakers pledge to ramp up stimulus to buttress the world's second-largest economy against an escalating trade war with the United States. nL1N3QR07L

"The better the data, the less urgency there will be to unveil more stimulus measures," said a Chinese analyst, referring to the loan data and requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.

Additionally, China's iron ore imports dipped in March from the previous month to a 20-month low, defying analysts' expectations of a rebound as weather-related supply disruptions eased.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were steady, with coking coal DJMcv1 down 0.11% and coke DCJcv1 flat.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also moved in a tight range. Rebar SRBcv1 was flat at 0.03%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 advanced 0.31%, stainless steel SHSScv1 climbed 0.7%, while wire rod SWRcv1 shed 0.06%.

($1 = 7.3074 Chinese yuan)