The price of steelmaking raw materials in China rose for a second session on Monday on optimism that steel mills will replenish stockpiles as steel production increases and iron ore inventories at ports decline. The utilisation rate at blast furnaces across the country picked up again last week to 69.89 percent, as of May 11, up 0.97 percentage points from a week earlier and at its highest since early November, data from Mysteel consultancy showed.
Meanwhile, iron ore inventories at 45 major ports in China fell nearly 1 percent last week to 158.76 million tonnes, although still not far from record levels.
"The fast pace of reopening at steel mills and falling inventories at ports indicate strong restocking demand," said analysts at Orient Futures in a note.
The most-active iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled 2.2 percent higher at 488 yuan ($77.02) after briefly touching 490 yuan, the highest level in two months.