NGLOY - Iron ore price pushes to highest since July on demand optimism

Chinese iron ore futures sprint to an eight-month high Friday, as China's mills ramp up production while iron ore inventories are relatively low.

According to Reuters, the most-traded May iron ore futures contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ( SCO:COM ) ended daytime trading +1% at 919 yuan/metric ton ($133.15), its best level since last July.

The benchmark April iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange recently was +0.1% at $126.50/ton.

Potentially relevant companies include BHP ( BHP ), Rio Tinto ( RIO ), Vale ( VALE ), Fortescue ( OTCQX:FSUMF ), Glencore ( OTCPK:GLCNF ) ( OTCPK:GLNCY ), and Anglo American ( OTCQX:AAUKF ) ( OTCQX:NGLOY ).

Mysteel reported the blast furnace operational rate of 247 surveyed steel mills across China was 81.07% as of March 3, up from ~75% a year ago, but portside iron ore inventories fell by 2.23M metric tons during the week to 140M tons.

BHP ( BHP ) recently reported a 32% decline in H1 net profit, reflecting a downturn in prices for iron ore and other industrial metals .

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