* Shanghai rebar futures end at record low
* Iron ore futures edge up, spot prices down
* China's steel export lifeline seen shrinking (Updates closing prices)
BEIJING, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Chinese steel rebar futures fell to a fresh record low in the final session before the Oct. 1 National Day holiday, with few anticipating any big upturn in demand over the rest of the year, especially as export volumes decline.
China's slowing economy has aggravated long-standing overcapacity problems in its steel sector, by far the world's biggest, sending prices to their lowest level in more than two decades.
"It is clear the market is getting worse," said an iron ore trader based in Tangshan, China's biggest steel-producing city.
Chinese steel exports have risen 26.5 percent in the first eight months of the year, helping mask the decline in domestic consumption, but that lifeline is now also under threat.
"Steel exports are already in decline in the second half, partly because of weak demand, but also because prices overseas are already lower than costs," the trader said.
On Wednesday, the most-traded rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1 percent to 1,821 yuan ($286.34) a tonne, its lowest close since its launch in 2009. It has fallen 7 percent this month and by a third since the start of the year.
The most active iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the day at 366 yuan a tonne, edging up 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, spot prices continue to decline.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port dropped 2.3 percent to $54.7 a tonne on Tuesday, hurt by declining Chinese steel prices and rising supplies.
In its quarterly commodities update, Australia's Department of Industry cut its 2015 iron ore price forecast to $52.90 from $55.40 previously, blaming rising seaborne supplies.
Iron ore inventories at 44 Chinese ports reached 82.4 million tonnes by the end of last week, up 2.3 percent on the week, and the Shanghai-based consultancy SteelHome has forecast further increases in the coming weeks.
According to Mysteel, spot hot-rolled coil prices in Shanghai stood at 1,900 yuan per tonne on Tuesday, closing in on a record low of 1,890 yuan set in early July. Prices have fallen 37.5 percent since the beginning of the year.
Rebar and iron ore prices at 0700 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR JAN6
1821
-18.00
-0.98 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO JAN6
366
+0.50
+0.14 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
54.7
-1.30
-2.32 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
56.05
-0.81
-1.42
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.3560 Chinese yuan)