Australian stocks rise on higher iron ore prices

The Australian market has ended the day stronger, driven by a surge in prices for iron ore.

The benchmark ASX 200 rallied in afternoon trade and ended Thursday up 0.4 percent to 6,615 points. The broader All Ordinaries lifted by even more, up by 0.5 percent to 6,847 points, ABC News Australia reports.

The biggest boost of the day came from iron ore mining giant Fortescue Metals (+13.3 percent) along with its competitors BHP (+4.5 percent) and Rio Tinto (+6.9 percent).

That was after the price of the steel-making commodity leapt (+3.1 percent) to US$136.29 a tonne, around a seven-year high.