The iron ore price is pushing $US120 a tonne, following steady gains throughout the week.

Benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US119.4 a tonne, an increase on the $US118.20 price in the previous session.

This is the highest point iron ore has reached since February 24, when it traded at $US119.9 a tonne.

In the first half of the week iron ore was trading in a range of $US115.3 to $US117.2 a tonne.

Earlier this month, iron ore posted its biggest one-day rise in nine months, flirting with the $US118 a tonne threshold it has since broken.

Last 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.

Some analysts have cut growth forecasts for China, and predicted iron ore prices will sink to around $US80 to $US90 per tonne over the next few years.

Investors will now shift their attention to upcoming data in China, where the latest reads on the nation's trade balance and inflation are set to be released in coming days.