China steel futures dropped for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, touching another record low as demand in the world's top consumer weakens, weighing on raw material iron ore.
The most active rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for May, slumped to 3,449 yuan ($570), their weakest since the contract was launched in April 2009. It closed 0.3 percent lower at 3,469 yuan.
Tepid steel demand and falling prices have discouraged steel mills from restocking raw material iron ore, pushing some traders to sell at losses to ease strain on their cashflows.
"Mills are more demanding in choosing cargoes in terms of price, quality and loading periods as they understand that it's a buyer's market now, while the overall buying appetite still remains weak," said an iron ore trader in Beijing.
On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, iron ore futures for May slipped to 884 yuan a tonne, the lowest since the derivative was launched in October last year. It was trading 0.1 percent lower at 892 yuan by close.
Iron ore exports to China from Australia's Port Hedland, which handles about a fifth of the global seaborne market for the commodity, rose 19.4 percent to 24.16 million tonnes in December from a year ago.
Benchmark 62 percent grade iron ore for immediate delivery into China .IO62-CNI=SI extended losses on Tuesday, inching down 0.7 percent to $133.8 a tonne, according to data compiler Steel Index.