COLUMN-Iron ore's bounce may be based on more than just China hopes: Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The price of spot iron ore for delivery to north China has rallied from a two-year low as some optimism creeps back into the market that the worst may be over for the steel raw material.

The spot price of benchmark 62% iron ore MTIOQIN62=ARG, as assessed by commodity price reporting agency Argus, ended at $91.75 a tonne on Nov. 11, up 16% from a three-year low of $79 on Oct. 31.

However, iron ore is still down 43% from its peak in 2022 of $160.30 a tonne, reached on March 8 in the aftermath of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which raised fears of a loss of supply from Ukraine, which had been the world's fifth-largest exporter.

While supply concerns have eased, the main dynamic behind the price retreat has been weakness in the residential construction sector in China, which takes about 70% of iron ore that is exported by sea.