The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 2.63% higher at 957 yuan ($133.04) a metric ton, the highest since Jan. 12. It posted a weekly rise of 1.3%.
The benchmark February iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange ticked up 0.55% by 0722 GMT to hit its highest level since Jan. 16 at $130.15 a ton, recording a weekly gain of 2.1%.
“Ore market has recently been impacted more by the movement in sentiment on macro economy without drastic changes seen from its own fundamentals,” analysts at Everbright Futures said in a note.
Market sentiment was also lifted by China’s stock market rebound on Thursday from nearly five-year lows amid signs of state support.
Some steel mills are expected to stockpile feedstocks to sustain production during the Lunar New Year holiday break in February, supporting prices of the key steelmaking ingredient.
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