Iron ore prices continue to rise

On China's Dalian-based China Futures Exchange, January's best-selling iron ore rose 2.94% to 771.5 yuan ($105.87) a tonne for the seventh straight session. At the same time, benchmark September iron ore continued to rise on the Singapore Exchange and added 0.8% to $106.5 per ton. Overnight, Singapore iron ore rose 5.1% and Dalian rose 3.5%. Inventories of sinter fines from imported iron ore held by 64 Chinese steelmakers fell to 8. 7 million tons compared to last Wednesday, which is 2.1% lower than the previous week, and 31% lower than last year. Iron ore purchases have been put on hold by some industries as the likelihood of introducing steel controls has risen and profitability has declined.