Iron ore edges up on China infrastructure, property support hopes

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Iron ore prices edged higher on Monday, extending last week's solid gains and spurred by hopes of increased infrastructure spending and prospects of property sector bailouts in China.

Uninspiring factory activity data capped gains, however.

The most-traded iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1, for September delivery, ended daytime trade 0.8% higher at 787 yuan ($116.55) a tonne, after touching its strongest level since June 30 at 817.50 yuan.

On the Singapore Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient's September contract SZZFU2was up 1.2% at $116.40 a tonne at 0718 GMT, off a session high of $120.95.

China has urged local governments to speed up the use of special bonds for infrastructure that is mature and profitable, state media reported on Friday, following a cabinet meeting.

Fitch Ratings said it expected the Chinese government to roll out more financial support to boost infrastructure investment.