A key barometer for China’s economy is shining bright despite the nation’s property crisis

• Iron ore, a commodity often associated with growth and economic activity in China, is rallying.
• Sustained demand could mean the nation’s economy isn’t completely in the dumps.
• Data in recent weeks shows China faces debt, deflation, and key demographic issues.

China’s economy may not be completely in the dumps, judging by prices for a key building and manufacturing commodity that often moves on demand from Chinese firms. 

Iron ore prices have stayed hot for most of 2023, despite the turmoil that’s currently unfolding in China’s real estate market. Some of China’s largest property developers are verging on collapse as consumer confidence in the sector wavers—but iron, a material critical to construction and manufacturing, recently rose to a four-week high, and prices have stayed above $100 per ton for most of 2023, according to Bloomberg data.