BEIJING: Chinese iron ore futures jumped 3% on Friday, rising for the second straight session and tracking fourth weekly gains from supply shortage at mills because of COVID-related disruptions.

Producers in the top steelmaking city of Tangshan are set to cut or suspend output as their raw material stocks can only feed production for several days while transportation remained constraint due to a temporary lockdown.

Average daily output of around 36,100 tonnes molten iron had been affected in Tangshan as of March 24, data compiled by Mysteel consultancy showed, amid blast furnaces maintenance because of supply crunch.

Coking coal and coke inventories at mills and coking plants surveyed by the consultancy fell 1.6% and 4.9%, respectively, this week from a week earlier.

The most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for May delivery, gained as much as 3% to 851 yuan ($133.78) a tonne.