Chinese iron ore futures jumped more than 2% on April 10, rebounding after a three-day retreat as steel prices rose, spurred by expectations of a pickup in seasonal demand and a sustained drop in steel stockpiles.
However, worries over trade frictions between the United States and China capped gains in both commodities.
China has stepped up its attacks on the Trump administration over billions of dollars worth of threatened tariffs, but U.S. President Donald Trump again voiced optimism the two sides would hammer out a trade deal.
The most-traded iron ore for September delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOU8 was up 2.4% at 449.50 yuan/t ($71/t) by 0223 GMT.
"The physical market is still quite stable. We are expecting seasonal demand to increase consumption which will support raw material prices," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
Activity in the construction sector, a big steel user, typically increases as weather warms after winter.
"It's still quite cold in some parts of China, so I believe it will take one or two weeks before we see construction work fully start," the trader said.
Iron ore shipments to China from the Port Hedland terminal in top supplier Australia climbed nearly 12% in March from a month earlier to 35 million tonnes. Iron ore for delivery to China's Qingdao port .IO62-CNO=MB rose 0.6% to $63.95/t on April 9, according to Metal Bulletin.
The most-active rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 rose 1.3% to 3,407 yuan/t, gaining for a second session running.
In a sign of demand picking up, inventory of construction steel product rebar at Chinese traders dropped for a third consecutive week, standing at 8.73 million tonnes on April 4. That compared to a nearly five-year peak of 9.78 million tonnes in mid-March.
"Inventory at traders dropped at a faster pace because of stronger demand," Morgan Stanley said in a report, pointing to a 6.5% weekly drop in traders' inventory for major steel products during the same period.
Sources:sxcoal
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