SHANGHAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Chinese rebar futures fell on Tuesday, under pressure from weak demand during winter in China, the world's top consumer.
Benchmark May rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 dipped nearly 1 percent to 1,780 yuan a tonne by the midday break.
Analysts expected only fragile demand in the winter season as construction activities in some northern regions have nearly stalled, weighing on prices.
"The market tends to be slower at the year-end and we don't see any strong pick-up in steel demand, so steel prices remain under pressure," said Yu Yang, an analyst with Shenyin & Wanguo Futures in Shanghai.
For iron ore, the most-traded May contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 almost steadied at 324 yuan a tonne by midday break. It hit an all-time low of 282.50 yuan last week.
Spot iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI rose 0.5 percent of $43.10 a tonne on Monday, its highest since Nov. 27, according to The Steel Index (TSI).