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PrintChina's iron ore futures dropped for a sixth straight session on Monday, reflecting tepid buying interest for the raw material as the world's top steel consumer sees sluggish demand.
Rebar prices touched four-month lows.
Daily crude steel output in China, also the world's largest producer, averaged 2.107 million tonnes between Oct. 11 and 20, 1 percent lower than the preceding 10-day period, data from the China Iron and Steel Association showed.
China's steel production also slipped in early October, boding ill for demand for iron ore.
The most-traded 62 percent grade iron ore contract for May delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.8 percent at 920 yuan ($150) a tonne, including China's value-added tax, port charges and other fees, by 0306 GMT.
It was the sixth straight day of decline for the contract since the Dalian bourse launched iron ore futures on Oct. 18, falling nearly 6 percent from its debut.
Iron ore for immediate delivery on China's Tianjin port.IO62-CNI=SI dropped 0.2 percent to $133.30 a tonne on Friday, according to data compiled by Steel Index.
"Iron ore supply is only bound to increase and that will put more pressure on prices. I can't say that demand from the Chinese market will decrease but the pace of increase will definitely go down," said Ting Zhou, analyst at Jinrui Futures in Shenzhen.
The softer steel market is weighing on appetite for iron ore, with inventories at producers rising.
Stockpiles of five major steel products, including construction-used rebar, at Chinese mills stood at around 13.8 million tonnes as of Oct. 20, up from 12.6 million tonnes at the end of September, said Zhou, citing industry estimates.
Traders and end-users are not replenishing and keeping their own inventories low because they are predicting a further decline in prices, said Zhou.
Steel inventories at this group dipped to 14.3 million tonnes as of Oct. 25 for 14.5 million tonnes at end-September, said Zhou, also citing industry estimates.
The most-active rebar contract for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange touched a session low of 3,575 yuan a tonne, its cheapest since June 27.
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