Iron ore price has risen

Iron ore prices rose on Friday, despite the fact that production at steel mills remained sluggish due to government restrictions in China.

Blast furnace utilization rates at 247 steel mills nationwide declined for the seventh straight week to 74.8% as of Friday, up from 75.2% a week earlier, according to consultancy Mysteel.

According to Fastmarkets MB, a 62% iron benchmark ore imported into North China changed hands at $ 102.36 a tonne, up 0.7% from Thursday's close.

Dalian Commodity Exchange benchmark iron ore futures for May delivery fell 3.6% to 603 yuan ($ 94.61) as of 03:30 GMT after falling 5.5% in morning trading. However, the contract was up 4.8% over the week.

“The impact of changes in supply on steel product prices is waning,” says SinoSteel Futures in a winter production control note.

However, as the real estate market remains weak, steel prices are not expected to rise significantly, SinoSteel Futures said in a statement.