Dalian iron ore futures higher

Sentiment was propelled by improved demand prospects as China has entered its peak spring construction season and with more evidence of economic recovery for the world’s top steel producer and iron ore consumer.

The most-traded May iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended morning trade 0.4% higher at 926 yuan ($134.75) a tonne. It hit 936 yuan earlier in the session, a new high for the contract. Benchmark April iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.1% at $131.60 a tonne, as of 0357 GMT, after it earlier touched a fresh three-week high of $132.40.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the most-active rebar and hot-rolled coil contracts both climbed as much as 0.9% to their highest levels since June.