At the end of the latest session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US50.70 a tonne, up 0.2 per cent on its prior close and US70c for the week.

There’s no big data out of China or production numbers from the large iron ore houses this week. However, the steelmaking ingredient has been in for a wild ride of late thanks to uncertainty about the Chinese sharemarkets and economy, and the supply glut that pushed prices down to six-year lows in early July.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, which is about to begin adding to that supply later this year, expects the price of iron ore to eventually rebound back above $US80 per tonne.

Executive director Tad Watroba made the comments, adding that the company now expects to begin production from the $US10 billion ($13.7bn) Roy Hill mine in early October, instead of September as previously planned.