Iron ore climbs on China's higher imports in July

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures rose on Monday after data showed a modest rebound in Chinese imports of the steelmaking ingredient in July driven by improved profitability at mills.

Hopes that steel output curbs in top producer China to meet decarbonisation goals will be less strenuous in the second half of the year also supported iron ore prices.

Iron ore's most-traded January 2023 contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended morning trade 4.3% higher at 737.50 yuan ($109.04) a tonne. It touched its highest since Aug. 1 at 744 yuan earlier in the session.

On the Singapore Exchange, the front-month September contract SZZFU2 climbed by up to 3.6% to $113.05 a tonne, extending Friday's rebound from a five-session slump.

China's iron ore purchases in July rose 3.1% from a year earlier and 3% from June as steelmakers' margins improved, and despite concerns over weak steel demand particularly from the country's ailing property sector.