* Shanghai rebar sinks to a fresh all-time low
* Spot iron ore closes in on seven-year low
* Iron ore stocks at China ports highest since May
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday, pressured by rising stockpiles of the commodity at the country's ports as Chinese steel mills grapple with a weak market.
Shanghai steel futures dropped to a record low, with no near-term recovery in sight for demand that has been shrinking in step with a slowing economy.
Iron ore for January delivery on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was down 1.3 percent at 346.50 yuan ($54) a tonne by 0140 GMT.
"A lot of Chinese mills are facing losses due to the weak market and we may see more of them cutting production or shutting down," said a Shanghai-based iron ore trader.
"That is making business more difficult for us."
The most-traded rebar for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 hit a session low of 1,750 yuan a tonne, its weakest since the exchange launched futures for the construction steel product in 2009.
Chinese construction is expected to slow during the seasonally weak winter period, curbing steel demand that has already dropped nearly 6 percent in the first 10 months of this year, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.
Amid shrinking steel demand, stocks of iron ore at China's ports reached 86.55 million tonnes on Nov. 13, the highest since May, data from consultancy SteelHome showed. SH-TOT-IRONINV
"The seaborne market remains fragile with little buying interest in the Chinese market," ANZ Bank said in a note.
Benchmark 62-percent grade iron ore for shipment to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI slipped 0.2 percent to $47.30 a tonne on Monday, according to The Steel Index (TSI).
That was the weakest spot price since July when it stood at $44.10, which was its lowest since TSI began assessing prices in 2008.
Rebar and iron ore prices at 0140 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR MAY6
1756
-2.00
-0.11 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6
346.5
-4.50
-1.28 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES DEC
45.03
-0.22
-0.49 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
47.3
-0.10
-0.21 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
47.74
-0.40
-0.83
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.3737 Chinese yuan)