Australia's iron ore export hub, the world's largest, braced on Friday for a powerful tropical cyclone, forcing the closure of all of the major commodity ports in the country's northwest as residents rushed to stock up on essential supplies.

Singapore iron ore futures prices rose on Friday and were on track for a weekly gain, supported by heightened concerns over cyclone-led supply disruptions in major producer Australia. The benchmark March iron ore SZZFH5 on the Singapore Exchange was up 0.