Iron ore futures ticked up on Friday, supported by pre-holiday restocking and the seasonal pickup in Chinese steel demand. As of 02:58 GMT on September 19, 2025, the most-traded January contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 0.56% to 805.5 yuan per metric ton (about $113.23), putting it up 0.88% for the week. The benchmark September contract on the Singapore Exchange was 0.22% higher at $105.5/t, though still 0.19% lower week-to-date. Broker Galaxy Futures noted that stronger-than-expected downstream demand late September into October could lift steel prices further. Market data showed inventories of major carbon steel products in China fell 0.3% in the week of September 12–18 to 4.18 million tons. Average daily hot metal output reached 2.41 million tons in the week to September 19, up 171,900 tons from a year earlier, while blast furnace capacity utilization increased 6.29 percentage points year-on-year to 90.35%. National Bureau of Statistics figures indicated China’s crude iron ore output rose 8.8% year-on-year in August to 81.63 million tons, even as crude steel output fell for a third straight month on softer demand. On Shanghai Futures Exchange steel screens, rebar and wire rod gained 0.32% and 0.12%, respectively, while hot-rolled coil slipped 0.21% and stainless steel eased 0.27%.