BEIJING- Iron ore futures ticked up on Friday to head for a weekly rise at four-week-high levels as a raft of better-than-expected data from top consumer China buoyed sentiment and China demand stayed resilient.
The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended morning trade 1.27 percent higher at 800 yuan ($109.19) a metric ton，the highest since Dec. 17, 2024.
The benchmark February iron ore on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.31 percent to $103 a ton, the highest since Dec. 18, 2024.
Both benchmarks posted a gain of 6 percent so far this week.
China’s economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected, helped by a flurry of stimulus measures, with an annual growth of 5 percent, which meets the government’s target, although analysts had forecast 4.9 percent growth.
Data for the property sector, including sales and new construction starts measured by floor area, showed some improvement, boosting sentiment.
The average daily hot metal output among steelmakers surveyed halted eight weeks of decline to add 0.05 percent week-on-week to 2.24 million tons as of Jan. 16, data from consultancy Mysteel showed, reflecting that the key steelmaking ingredient’s demand remained resilient in a slack demand season.
Hot metal output, a blast furnace product, is typically used to gauge iron ore demand.
