Iron ore rises on hopes of China demand pick-up after Beijing Olympics

Iron ore futures rose on Thursday, on expectations of a recovery in Chinese demand for the steelmaking raw material after the Beijing 2022 Olympics next month, while spot prices also remained well supported by restocking demand.

Top steel producer China is expected to maintain output restrictions to ensure clean air during the Games.

The most-active iron ore for May delivery on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed by up to 4% to 716 yuan ($112.32) a tonne, its highest since Dec. 27.

On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore's most-traded contract expiring by end-February rose as much as 2.1% to $126.85 a tonne, its strongest since Dec. 24.

The SGX price exceeded the spot price in China for the benchmark 62% material, which stood at $126 a tonne on Wednesday, the highest since Dec. 27, based on SteelHome consultancy data.

Although iron ore shipment arrivals in China were still on the rise, and had pushed portside inventory to the highest since mid-2018 last month, restocking demand ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival holidays beginning Jan. 31 continued to support spot prices, analysts said.

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 1%, while hot-rolled coil climbed 1.4%, but stainless steel shed 1.7%.

Dalian coking coal added 0.2% and coke jumped 2.4%.

"After the Winter Olympics, there is an opportunity to relax the production limit (for steel)," analysts at Zhongzhou Futures said in a note.

But Zhongzhou analysts said China could see an iron ore surplus of 15 million tonnes this year given depressed steel demand in the country's property sector and production controls to curb emissions.

While iron ore trading this year started on a positive note, analysts also warned against being too optimistic especially with steel output in China's production hubs currently restricted amid heavy pollution warnings.

(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila)