The iron ore price has pushed to its highest point since recording its sharpest one-day drop in four years a fortnight ago, a slide that brought the commodity into sharp focus around the world.

Benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US111.80 a tonne, a solid lift on the $US110.50 price in the previous session.

For the previous five sessions iron ore had traded in a tight range between $US110.50 and $US110.70 a tonne.

Earlier this month, the price of iron ore charted its largest one-day price fall in more than four years on persistent fears over China's economy, dropping to as low as $US104.70 a tonne, after closing out the previous week at $US114.20 a tonne.

Since then, the highest the iron ore price has reached was $US111.50 - until today.

Fresh concerns over the Chinese economy earlier this week - sparked when the HSBC China flash purchasing managers' index printed at an eight-month low in March - was largely shrugged off by investors.

The focus for investors has now shifted to the prospect of stimulus from Beijing. If Chinese policymakers step in shortly it would be viewed by investors as a positive for the Australian economy and the local currency.

Improved optimism on global bourses has also aided the iron ore price, with Wall Street and European stocks reversing consecutive sessions of losses overnight, to chart strong rises.