The price of iron ore has remained within US60c of a two-month high as the start of a two-day holiday in China muted trade.

At the end of the latest session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US55.80 a tonne, in line with the prior close.

The action leaves the commodity without a red session for six days.

It follows confirmation from Rio Tinto that it is standing by its long-term forecast for China steel production despite rival BHP Billiton trimming its projection last week and persistent questioning from analysts.

“Because of the volatility we’re in and the questioning from many outside, we’ve done an extraordinary external interrogation of that data and new data ... and I can absolutely confirm the number is good,” Rio's iron ore boss Andrew Harding told The Australian on Thursday.

“The fundamental difference (between Rio and other forecasters) is we believe China, as the second-largest economy growing to the first largest, will become a significant exporter of steel-based products.

“That is based on studying other countries and their developments, like Japan and South Korea, the US, and Germany. We just believe China will go down a similar path.”