Iron ore rises on higher output; coking coal at 1 — month low

(Updates prices as of market close, adds background, analysts comments in paragraphs 4, 8-9) Sept 18 (Reuters) — Dalian iron ore prices rose for a third straight session on Friday, supported by higher-than-expected hot metal output, while lingering demand uncertainty, swelling portside inventory and thin steel margins kept prices on track for a second weekly loss. The most-traded January iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade up 0.7% at 715.5 yuan ($106.83) a metric ton, posting a 0.6% weekly fall. By 0752 GMT, the benchmark October iron ore on the Singapore Exchange was 0.88% higher at $97.2 a ton, gaining 0.7% so far this week. The average daily hot metal output, a gauge of iron ore demand, climbed by 0.6% from the week before to a four-week high of 2.38 million tons as of September 17, data from consultancy Mysteel showed, beating expectations and boosting investor sentiment. Ore prices also found some support from expectations that Chinese steel mills could boost buying ahead of the National Day holiday, analysts from ANZ Research said. But concerns over wide-scale steel production cuts and weak mill margins lingered, limiting price ga