SINGAPORE - Prices of iron-ore futures gained ground on Thursday, as prospects of fresh Chinese monetary stimulus and lower inventories overshadowed concerns of the top consumer's weakening domestic demand.

The most-traded January iron-ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 1.69% higher at 693.0 yuan ($98.10) a metric ton.

The benchmark October iron-ore SZZFV4 on the Singapore Exchange was 2.46% higher at $92.95 a ton, as of 07:00 GMT.

China is widely expected to trim its main policy and benchmark lending rates on Friday, a Reuters poll showed, after the Federal Reserve's outsized interest rate cut removed some risks around sharp yuan declines.

Analysts say Chinese policymakers will likely step up measures to at least help the economy meet an increasingly challenging growth target for 2024, with a sharper focus on boosting demand to fight persistent deflationary pressures.

Economic data for August fell below expectations, raising the urgency to roll out more stimulus measures to prop up the economy, market watchers said.

Meanwhile, inventories of imported iron ore held by 64 Chinese steelmakers dropped by 0.4% from the prior week to 10.9-million tons as of September 18, Chinese consultancy Mysteel said in a note, attributing the fall to steel mills' larger consumption of the feedstock.

Ongoing declines in steel inventories are likely to support prices of steel products, particularly rebar and wire rod, Mysteel added.

Across Chinese ports, total iron ore stockpiles dipped 0.73% week-on-week, as of Sept. 13, Steelhome data showed.

Chinese steel exports held at record highs in August, with the surge indicative of weak domestic demand, Westpac analysts said.

Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE advanced, with coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 up 2.3% and 2.71%, respectively.

Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were stronger. Wire rod SWRcv1 climbed 2.26%, rebar SRBcv1 rose 1.14%, hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 added 1.03% and stainless steel SHSScv1 gained 0.94%.