Iron ore extends gains on port destocking, restocking demand

By Emily Ou Yong SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Iron ore futures rose for a third straight session on Friday, supported by signs of restocking by Chinese steel mills and lower port inventories. The most-traded January iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) was 0.91% higher at 717 yuan ($107.04) a metric ton, as of 0300 GMT. The contract has lost 0.42% so far this week, heading for a second weekly fall in a row. The benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.83% higher at $97.15 a ton. The contract was little changed for the week. Iron ore inventories at major Chinese ports fell 0.18% week-on-week to 151.02 million tons, declining for a sixth straight week, data from consultancy Steelhome showed. Iron ore futures found some support from expectations that Chinese steel mills could boost buying ahead of the National Day holiday, analysts from ANZ Research said. That was despite concerns over steel production cuts and weak mill margins that have weighed on market sentiment in recent weeks. Hot metal output at key enterprises, a gauge of iron ore demand, reached 17.95 million tons in the first 10 days of September, up 1.7% from the previous 10-day.