China's iron ore futures fell for a third session on Monday amid increasing concern over surplus supply.
"High inventory has been putting pressure on iron ore prices. Unstable steel prices also helped to curb the margins on raw materials," analysts at Orient Futures wrote in a note.
Stockpiles of imported iron ore at Chinese ports rose by 750,000 tons over the last week to 140.45 million tons, data from Shanghai-based SteelHome consultants showed on Monday. This number is just below a peak of 141.5 million tons hit last month, the highest since at least 2004.
The steelmaking raw material is also piling up at mills. Small to medium-sized mills are on average holding about 26 days of production, up from 25 days, Orient Futures said.
The most-active iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.87 percent to 512 yuan ($75.7) a ton during the afternoon trade after dipping as low as 502 yuan.
Stocks of rebar, mostly used in construction, increased by 2.34 million tons over the last week to 372.7 million tons, according to the SteelHome data.
The most-traded steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.26 percent to 3,515 yuan a ton.
The rise follows a two-day fall of nearly 4 percent at the end of last week as buyers cashed in over concerns about surplus supply. Spot rebar prices also reflected the supply concerns, losing 0.4 percent on Friday to 3,929.83 yuan a ton.
