Dalian iron ore futures ended higher on Wednesday, supported by ramping up of production by steelmakers amid robust construction activity and hopes for further demand as China eased coronavirus restrictions.
Beijing had relaxed quarantine rules ahead of the holidays from May 1 and May 5 to allow travel flows for people from low-risk parts of the country, suggesting more economic activities will be resumed after months-long curbs.
Weekly capacity utilisation rates at blast furnaces in 247 mills across China rose to 81.68% as of April 30, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.
The most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange for September delivery, ended up 0.6% to 611 yuan ($86.22) per tonne after jumping as much as 1.8% to 618 yuan earlier.
