Average spot rates for capesize bulkers rose for the first time in almost four weeks as China’s efforts to boost its property market elevated tomorrow’s iron ore prices.

The Baltic Exchange’s Capesize 5TC set of spot-rate averages across five key routes gained 5.2% on Monday to land at $9,766 per day, reversing a downward trend that began on 11 May when it fell 2.5% to $21,276 per day.

The roundtrip C10 iron ore route between Australia and China improved 13.2% to $12,791 per day on Monday, marking a second day in gains after posting a three-week slide.

Rio Tinto hired an unnamed capesize on Monday to ship 170,000 tonnes of iron ore from Dampier, Australia, to Qingdao, China, at $7.95 per tonne after loading the ship from 19 to 21 June.

The Australian miner fixed an unnamed capesize on Friday at a lower price of $7.55 per tonne to carry the same amount of ore on the same route.

The capesize futures market also showed optimism as July contracts improved 6.5% to $16,550 per day on Monday. Third-quarter contracts rose 6.1% to $18,397 per day.

Iron ore futures in China and Singapore reached their highest levels in six weeks due to a more bullish sentiment after a report stated that China is working on new measures to help the property sector, Reuters reported.

The most-traded September iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange improved 3.6% to 770 yuan ($108.44) a tonne to reach its highest level since 20 April, according to Reuters.

On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore’s benchmark July contract gained 4.0% to $108 a tonne, its highest since 21 April.

“In addition to the slight uptick in the spot market, the sentiment in the iron ore market has also improved,” Clarksons Securities analyst Frode Morkedal wrote in a note on Monday.

“Furthermore, basic steel mill margins (only focusing on essential raw material costs) have seen a 9% increment over the past fortnight, predominantly due to the decrease in coal prices.”