* Iron ore, China steel prices at multi-month highs
* China expected to limit steel output around Tangshan
* Beijing aiming for 6.5-7 pct GDP growth for 2016
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, March 7 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China surged nearly 5 percent to hit their upside limit on Monday and Singapore futures rallied more than 8 percent, buoyed by bullish sentiment and expectations that Chinese steel mills are planning a short-term output boost.
Tangshan city in northern China's Hebei province, the country's top steel producing region, is scheduled to host an international horticultural exposition between April 29 and Oct. 16.
During the period, authorities are expected to order steel mills in the region to slash production to reduce air pollution, and producers are expected to increase output ahead of the event.
A draft on how the government will limit pollution during the period was released at the weekend, said Wang Di, analyst at CRU Group in Beijing.
"I also think bullish sentiment is playing a big part in pushing up prices," said Di, adding that while actual steel demand has improved compared with the winter period, there "hasn't been a significant change."
The most-traded May iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was up 4.9 percent at the exchange-set ceiling of 407 yuan ($62.49) a tonne by 0224 GMT, its strongest since June 11. The contract first surged to its upside limit in night trading on Friday.
On the Singapore Exchange, May iron ore SZZFK6 climbed 8.4 percent to $53.56 a tonne.
Chinese steel futures similarly soared. May rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 was up 5 percent, also hitting its upside limit of 2,073 yuan a tonne, the highest since Aug. 17.
Strong gains in ferrous futures are likely to lift bids for spot cargoes in the physical market, and push up spot prices, also trading at multi-month highs.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI rose 1.4 percent to $52.40 a tonne on Friday, its loftiest since Oct. 19, according to data compiled by The Steel Index.
China's economy isn't headed for a hard landing and isn't dragging on the global economy, the country's top economic planner said on Sunday, but uncertainty and instability in the global economy do pose a risk to growth. will aim for economic growth of between 6.5-7 percent for 2016. Growth of 6.5 percent would be the slowest in China in a quarter century. and iron ore prices at 0224 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR MAY6
2073
+98.00
+4.96 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO MAY6
407
+19.00
+4.90 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES MAY
53.56
+4.16
+8.42 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
52.4
+0.70
+1.35 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
51.2
+0.00
+0.00
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.5127 Chinese yuan)