SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore prices jumped
on Tuesday as rising steel prices encouraged mills and traders
to chase cargoes, boosting sentiment in a market hit hard by an
economic slowdown in top consumer China.
    Iron ore bounced back from near three-year lows earlier this
month after Beijing's approval of more than $150 billion in
infrastructure projects raised hopes the plan would resuscitate
steel demand. 
    Prices got a further boost from a broad-based commodities
rally spurred by the Federal Reserve's push late last week to
stimulate the U.S. economy via a third round of bond buying.
    A 165,000-tonne cargo of Australian 61-percent grade Pilbara
iron ore fines was sold at $109 per tonne on the China Beijing
International Mining Exchange on Tuesday, up from a previous
deal of $106.23, said an iron ore trader in Hong Kong.
    A separate cargo of 57.7-percent grade Australian Yandi
fines was sold on the same platform at $99 a tonne, up from $95
for a similar grade last week, said a Shanghai-based trader.
    A Brazilian shipment of 63.5-percent grade iron ore was sold
at $111.20 per tonne, up from Monday's $107.41, he said.
    "A lot of the mills have been away from the market for a
while so most of them are just hungry for material. Some traders
are also starting to take positions thinking the market is on a
rebound," the Shanghai trader said.
    Some Chinese mills may also be stocking up on iron ore ahead
of the week-long National Day holiday in China early next month,
traders said.
    Higher prices for spot cargoes could lift the benchmark
62-percent grade iron ore .IO62-CNI=SI further on Tuesday. The
benchmark rose 3.4 percent to $105.10 a tonne on Monday, the
highest since Aug. 21, according to data provider Steel Index.