FX.co ★ Iron Ore Rises on Improving Fundamentals

Iron ore futures rose above CNY 710 per ton, rebounding modestly from multi‑month lows as signs of tightening supply and stronger steel demand in top consumer China lent support. Industry data showed that iron ore inventories at major Chinese ports slipped to about 156.8 million tons, suggesting potentially tighter supply conditions in the coming weeks. At the same time, daily hot metal output at Chinese steel mills increased to 2.38 million tons, up 0.17 million tons from the previous week, while mill profitability improved to 33.77%, 1.74 percentage points higher than a month earlier. In parallel, the People’s Bank of China is preparing a 1 trillion yuan reverse repurchase operation, a move that could further underpin economic activity by boosting liquidity and credit availability.