MANILA: Iron ore futures advanced on Friday and were set for their third straight weekly rise, as top steel producer China’s latest moves to shore up its flagging economy brightened demand prospects. Expectations that Beijing will take more policy actions to support the economy, after easing some of its strict Cociv-19 containment rules and unveiling fresh measures to aid an ailing property sector, added to the buoyant mood.

The most-traded January iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended morning trade 3% higher at 751.50 yuan ($105.39) a tonne. Earlier in the session, it hit the highest level since Aug. 9 at 754.50 yuan. “(China’s) stimulus policies have pushed up price expectations for iron ore,” Huatai Futures analysts said in a note. China should set its economic growth target no lower than 5% for 2023, Liu Shijin, a policy adviser to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said on Friday, supporting Beijing’s pro-growth stance.