* Australian miner Fortescue maintains FY shipments' outlook
* Fortescue shipments remain on schedule despite coronavirus
* Benchmark iron ore spot price hits 1-mth high above $90/T
By Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, hovering around a nearly one-month high hit in the previous session, despite miner Fortescue Metals Group maintaining its shipments' estimate for fiscal 2020.
Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was up 0.2% at 640 yuan ($91.38) a tonne, as of 0207 GMT, trading in a narrow range after a cumulative 10% gain over the past six sessions on concerns over tightening supplies.
Fortescue FMG.AX expects full-year iron ore shipments to be at the upper end of the 170 million tonne-175 million tonne range despite supply disruptions in Western Australia due to infrastructure damage caused by tropical cyclone Damien. the coronavirus epidemic in China that has hampered global business, the Australian miner said its iron ore shipments were proceeding on schedule. cyclone damage, Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto RIO.AX RIO.L on Monday lowered its 2020 shipment forecast for the steelmaking raw material from Australia's Pilbara region. week, miner Vale SA VALE3.SA scaled down its first-quarter iron ore production outlook following heavy rain in Brazil that hampered its operations. prices of China-bound iron ore hit one-month highs, with the benchmark 62% grade settling at $91.50 a tonne on Tuesday, based on data from SteelHome consultancy. SH-CCN-IRNOR62
"Supply issues outweighed the demand concerns for iron ore," commodity strategists at ANZ said in a note.
With their profit margins squeezed, some Chinese steelmakers are reportedly looking to reduce output amid high product inventories and weak steel demand resulting from the coronavirus epidemic.
BHP Group BHP.AX BHPB.L , the world's biggest miner, on Tuesday warned this year's iron ore demand could take a hit if the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak in top steel producer China extended beyond March. The most-traded construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 slipped 0.5%, while hot-rolled coil SHHCcv1 , used in cars and home appliances, shed as much as 0.6%.
* Stainless steel SHSScv1 was down 0.1% amid record-high inventory in China.
* "The transaction volume within the spot stainless steel market is very thin now and spot stainless steel prices, which declined only 2% year-to-date, have yet to reflect the weaker market conditions," said Helen Lau, metals and mining analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong.
* Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 rose 1%, but Dalian coke DCJcv1 dropped 0.2%.
($1 = 7.0039 yuan)