<div id="readability-page-1"><div> Iron ore futures prices rose to a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by accelerated buying in the spot market as steelmakers in top consumer China began restocking feedstocks for consumption during the Lunar New Year holiday in February.The most-traded iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) climbed 1.05% to 766.5 yuan ($108.84) a metric ton by 0212 GMT. Earlier in the session, it touched its highest since December 11 at 769 yuan.The benchmark January iron ore (SZZFF6) on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.59% at $103.15 a ton, as of 0202 GMT. It hit the highest since December 5 at $103.45 earlier in the session.Improved liquidity in the spot market lifted sentiment, analysts said. Iron ore transaction volumes in the portside and seaborne markets jumped by 18.2% and 76.8%, respectively, on Tuesday, data from consultancy Mysteel showed.With crude steel output in the first 11 months of this year down 4% year-on-year, there seems to be less pressure on further cuts in December to achieve a national target set earlier in the year.Beijing pledged in March to restructure its giant steel industry through output cuts. Seaborne iron ore prices (SH-CCN-IRNOR62) have averaged $103 in the fourth quarter, as of December 16, higher than the $95 forecast by Goldman Sachs.Coking coal NYMEX:ACT1! and coke (DCJcv1), other steelmaking ingredients, climbed 0.33% and 1%, respectively.Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced. Rebar edged up 0.1%, hot-rolled coil nudged up 0.03%, wire rod (SWRcv1) rose 1.64%, while stainless steel was little changed.($1 = 7.0422 Chinese yuan)</div></div>

Iron ore futures hit a one-week high due to increased spot market liquidity, driven by Chinese steelmakers restocking for the Lunar New Year. Dalian Commodity Exchange iron ore rose 1.05% to 766.5 yuan, while Singapore Exchange iron ore increased 0.59% to $103.15. Improved liquidity boosted sentiment, with portside and seaborne transaction volumes up significantly. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange mostly advanced.

Iron ore at one-week high, bolstered by improved spot market liquidity