Iron ore prices rose during Friday’s trading, trading above $100 per tonne after falling below this important psychological level yesterday as Chinese measures to support the housing market failed to improve investor sentiment.

Iron ore futures prices for November delivery on the Singapore Exchange rose 2.04% to $101.65 per tonne at 12:46 p.m. Mecca time.

This came amid expectations of an acceleration in global demand for steel in 2025, as the World Steel Association said in a report issued last Monday that its estimates indicate a 1.2% increase in demand to 1.77 billion tons next year after three years of decline.

This comes despite the prolonged crisis in the Chinese real estate sector, which has hit domestic demand for steel, and thus iron ore, and Beijing’s companies’ orientation towards exports, which has caused an escalation in global trade tensions, and Western countries’ fears that their markets will be flooded with Chinese steel.