Iron ore rises on China stimulus; stainless steel soars on record nickel prices

Iron ore's most-traded May contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 2% to 747 yuan ($117.74) a tonne, its highest since Jan. 13.

The steelmaking ingredient's most-active March contract on the Singapore Exchange climbed 1.9% to $132.95 a tonne.

China stepped up its monetary easing efforts to prop up a slowing economy this week by lowering a set of key policy rates and lending benchmarks, with markets expecting further moves.

"We view this week's rate cuts as a pre-emptive move to drive a growth rebound in 2022," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia commodity analyst Vivek Dhar, citing downside pressures from the reimposition of COVID-19 curbs and the property sector's downturn.