Iron ore futures climbed above CNY 710 per ton, recovering modestly from multi-month lows as signs of tightening supply and improving steel demand in top consumer China provided support. Industry data showed iron ore inventories at major Chinese ports edged down to around 156.8 million tons, pointing to potentially tighter supply conditions in the coming weeks. Daily hot metal production at Chinese steel mills also increased to 2.38 million tons, up 0.17 million tons from the previous week, while mill profitability improved to 33.77%, rising 1.74 percentage points from the previous month. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China is set to conduct a 1 trillion yuan reverse repurchase operation, which could provide additional support to economic activity by improving liquidity and credit availability.