* Iron ore, steel futures down 30 pct from April peaks
* Chinese mills may be forced to curb output again - trader
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, May 25 (Reuters) - Iron ore and steel futures in China steadied on Wednesday after recent steep losses, supporting market expectations that the price of spot iron ore could find support at around $50 a tonne.
After a seasonal pickup in demand, consumption in China, the world's top steel user, has softened, pushing iron ore and steel futures prices down 30 percent from their peaks in April. Spot iron ore has dropped 27 percent from last month's high.
Given the firmer tone in other industrial commodities like copper and oil, iron ore could hold around $50 a tonne for now, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.
The current focus in China on infrastructure spending is "supportive of modest expansion in steel production," he said.
"It's not impossible that we could see iron ore trading between $50 and $68" between now and the rest of year, he said.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI slid 4.7 percent to $50.20 a tonne on Tuesday, the lowest since Feb. 29, according to The Steel Index. The spot benchmark touched $68.70 at its peak in April.
Rebar, or reinforcing bar used in construction, was little changed at 1,943 yuan ($296) a tonne on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 by 0326 GMT, off a low of 1,928 yuan. It touched 1,917 yuan on Tuesday, the lowest since March 4.
Rebar prices have slipped more than 5 percent this week.
Open interest, or open contracts, in hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 , used in cars, has surged to a record 248,368 lots in Shanghai as prices fell 28 percent from April highs.
Still, traders say weaker steel demand could push mills to curb production again.
Many mills shut down over the past year in response to weak demand and some resumed production as prices rallied in April. might see some cut in production, even from the big state-owned mills," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
Raw material iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 slipped 0.7 percent to 347 yuan a tonne, recovering from a low of 344 yuan, a level last seen on March 2. Futures have slipped 7 percent this week.
Other steelmaking commodity futures slipped further, with Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 and coke DCJcv1 each down around 1 percent.
($1 = 6.5616 Chinese yuan)