* Singapore iron ore rallies nearly 6 pct, Dalian also up
* Shanghai rebar hits highest since September
* China Jan iron ore imports rise 4.6 pct yr/yr
* China Jan exports, imports fall much faster than expected (Updates prices)
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in Singapore climbed nearly 6 percent and those in China also edged higher on Monday as Chinese markets reopened after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
The gains could be fleeting amid indications of further weakness in China's economy, traders and brokers said. Data showed the country's exports and imports shrank much faster than expected in January. most-traded March iron ore on the Singapore Exchange SZZFH6 was up 5.6 percent at $44 a tonne by 0706 GMT. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, May iron ore DCIOcv1 rose 1.3 percent to close at 339.50 yuan ($52.26) a tonne.
The recovery in Singapore prices followed losses during the Chinese holiday, said a Singapore-based broker.
"I don't see sustainability in it. But no doubt today's move on futures will probably see some better physical cargo traded," he said.
That should help the spot benchmark recover from a steep loss on Friday, he said. Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI slid nearly 3 percent to $43.20 a tonne that day, according to data compiled by The Steel Index.
Just before China went on break, the steelmaking raw material scaled an 11-week high of $44.70 on Feb. 4 as steel mills replenished stockpiles and traders took positions in anticipation of a stronger market after the holiday.
"(Friday's decline) suggests the strong supply growth from key iron ore exporters is easing temporary tightness in the Chinese market," said investment bank ANZ.
"A rebound in Chinese steel prices holds the key for any rebound in seaborne iron ore prices."
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, construction-used rebar rose as far as 1,880 yuan a tonne, its strongest since Sept. 28, before closing up 1.6 percent at 1,872 yuan.
Most Chinese traders were only expected to return to the market later in the week or next week, traders said, suggesting a slow pickup in trading activity just after the Lunar New Year.
China's iron ore imports rose 4.6 percent in January from a year earlier to 82.19 million tonnes, as domestic steel mills replenished inventories with cheap overseas supplies, customs data showed. and iron ore prices at 0706 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR MAY6
1872
+30.00
+1.63 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO MAY6
339.5
+4.50
+1.34 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES MAR
44.00
+2.34
+5.62 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
43.2
-1.30
-2.92 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
43.65
-1.60
-3.54
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.4968 Chinese yuan)