* Shanghai rebar not far from record low
* Iron ore stocks at China ports at highest since May
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Dalian iron ore futures edged higher on Monday after China's central bank cut interest rates for the sixth time in less than a year to spur a slowing economy.
The modest gains in iron ore futures, in China as well as in Singapore, suggest the raw material is still under pressure from a weak Chinese steel market. Shanghai rebar steel futures hovered near a record low.
"The market for steel products remains weak so mills are pushing to lower their cost," said a Shanghai-based iron ore trader.
The most-traded January iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 was up 0.4 percent at 367.50 yuan ($58) a tonne by midday. On the Singapore Exchange, November iron ore SZZFX5 was nearly flat at $48.84 a tonne.
The mild gain was in line with cautiously positive reactions from China's major financial markets after the central bank's rate cut. Beijing also again lowered the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve in a bid to jumpstart growth in its stuttering economy. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Q1HW
Shanghai steel futures were little changed after China's latest moves. January rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 rose 0.3 percent to 1,801 yuan a tonne, not far above an all-time low of 1,781 yuan reached on Friday.
Rising stocks of imported iron ore at China's ports reflect slow demand for the steelmaking commodity, said the Shanghai trader.
Inventory at China's major ports rose 750,000 tonnes to 83.95 million tonnes as of Oct. 23, highest since late May, according to data tracked by consultancy SteelHome. SH-TOT-IRONINV
"Seasonality suggests there is still an upside in port stocks and a downside in iron ore prices," ANZ analysts said in a research note.
Benchmark 62-percent grade iron ore for delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI dropped 1 percent to $50.90 per tonne on Friday, based on data compiled by The Steel Index.
That was the lowest for the spot benchmark since July 24.
A breach of $50 would bring iron ore closer to this year's low of $44.10 - hit in July - the weakest since TSI began compiling data in 2008.
Rebar and iron ore prices at 0337 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR JAN6
1801
+5.00
+0.28 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6
367.5
+1.50
+0.41 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES NOV
48.84
+0.09
+0.18 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
50.9
-0.50
-0.97 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
51.62
-0.56
-1.07
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.3495 Chinese yuan) (Editing by Tom Hogue)