Boosted by improved market sentiment after officials in China's main consumer country called for a check on aggressive price competition, iron ore futures continued to rise on Friday and are heading for a second consecutive weekly increase.

The most traded iron ore contract in September on the Chinese commodity exchange in Dalian (DCE) ended the morning session up 1.03% to 735.5 yuan ($102.65) per metric ton. The contract has gained 3.01% since the start of the week. The August reference price of iron ore on the Singapore Stock Exchange was up 0.11% to $96.55 per ton, at 03:45 GMT, and was up 2.4% since the start of the

The other steel-making ingredients on DCE evolved sideways, with coking coal increasing by 0.24%, while coke was down by 0.17%. The reference steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have all increased.