* Dalian iron ore lower, spot near 2015 bottom
* Brazil govt says may fine Vale, BHP for Samarco disaster
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures fell more than 1 percent to a record low on Thursday, pressured by shrinking demand in top consumer China that has dented appetite for raw material iron ore.
With falling prices seen forcing more Chinese steel mills to either cut output or close, demand from the biggest iron ore buyer is at risk, keeping ore prices lower for longer as top suppliers fight for more market share.
"It's now getting difficult for any trader who has seaborne cargo to sell before the ship arrives," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.
"Mills are quite pessimistic about the steel market and they don't want to take any risk by taking on forward cargoes," he said.
Construction-used rebar for May delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 was down 1.2 percent at 1,763 yuan ($277) a tonne by midday after falling as far as 1,760 yuan. That was the lowest for a most-active contract since the bourse launched rebar futures in 2009.
On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, January iron ore DCIOcv1 slipped 0.3 percent to 346 yuan a tonne.
A global glut has dragged spot prices to below $45 a tonne this year, less than a quarter of record highs seen in 2011, forcing many high-cost producers out of the market.
The outlook for iron ore prices remains bearish, Goldman Sachs (N:GS) analyst Christian Lelong said, citing rising port inventories in China and profit margins of Chinese steel mills near a record low amid poor demand.
Lelong said weak construction activity in China during the last quarter of the year is also a key headwind for iron ore prices.
"Moreover, a lack of optimism about 2016 should limit the scale of restocking in steel products in early 2016," he said in a note.
Benchmark 62-percent grade iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI stood at $47.70 a tonne on Wednesday, according to The Steel Index, still near this year's low of $44.10.
In Brazil, the government said it may fine mining giants BHP Billiton (L:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX and Vale SA VALE5.SA for the "environmental catastrophe" caused by ruptured dams at an iron ore mine jointly owned by the companies in a southeastern state. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13616X
Rebar and iron ore prices at 0357 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR MAY6
1763
-22.00
-1.23 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6
346
-1.00
-0.29 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES DEC
45.13
-0.40
-0.88 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
47.7
+0.30
+0.63 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
48.58
+0.34
+0.70
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.3646 Chinese yuan)