MANILA: Chinese iron ore prices hit a more than one-week high on Thursday, as domestic steel mills boosted production, but demand outlook remained uncertain amid a heat wave and property crisis.

The most traded January iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 2.1% to 721.50 yuan ($105.38) a tonne, its highest since Aug. 17, before retreating to close down 0.2% at 705.50 a tonne.

Recently, their profit has come back. Production will rise much more as some big mills have not resumed production too quickly before,” a China-based trader said.