* Vale says Tubarao port closure blocks 200,000 T iron ore/day
* China to cut steel production by 100-150 mln T
* Iron ore stocks at China's ports top 95 mln T (Adds China's plan to cut steel output)
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Asian iron ore futures retreated on Monday as traders weighed the impact of the closure of a key Brazilian port by top miner Vale Sa VALE5.SA that raised supply risks and lifted prices in the previous session.
The market remains cautious, waiting to see how long the Port of Tubarão, shut by a Brazilian federal court on Thursday on pollution concerns, will stay closed.
Vale said the port closure has blocked the loading of 200,000 tonnes of iron ore per day. think the market is not really trading much as there is not really a clear picture," said a Singapore-based trader.
The most-active May iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 closed down 1.6 percent at 313.50 yuan ($48) a tonne, after touching a two-week high of 324 yuan on Friday.
On the Singapore Exchange, March iron ore SZZFH6 slipped 1.2 percent to $38.25 a tonne at 0702 GMT.
There may be a rush to redirect iron ore shipments to Vale's other iron ore ports including Ponta da Madeira, Itaguaí and Guaíba Island terminal, said Mitchell Hugers, commodities analyst at BMI Research.
With the use of the other ports, Hugers said there should be no impact on iron ore prices, with Australian producers also expanding output.
"The market will remain oversupplied due to a combination of expanding output by both Australian and Brazilian major iron ore producers, continued U.S. dollar strength and weak Chinese demand growth from the country's steel sector," said Hugers who sees iron ore trading between $35 and $45 in coming quarters.
Iron ore for immediate delivery to China's Tianjin port .IO62-CNI=SI climbed 2 percent to $41.30 a tonne on Friday, ending the past week almost 3 percent higher due to news of the Tubarão closure, based on data compiled by The Steel Index.
Stocks of imported iron ore at China's ports remain high, reaching 95.35 million tonnes on Friday, the most since last May, according to industry consultancy SteelHome.
News that China will cut crude steel output by 100-150 million tonnes also weighed on iron ore prices. The State Council, or cabinet, led by Premier Li Keqiang, made the decision at a meeting on Friday, but did not provide a timeframe. most-traded May rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SRBcv1 rose 0.6 percent to end at 1,840 yuan a tonne, off a session high of 1,856 yuan.
Rebar and iron ore prices at 0702 GMT
Contract
Last
Change Pct Change SHFE REBAR MAY6
1840
+11.00
+0.60 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO MAY6
313.5
-5.00
-1.57 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES FEB
39.38
-0.67
-1.67 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX
41.3
+0.80
+1.98 METAL BULLETIN INDEX
42.2
+0.91
+2.20
Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.5792 Chinese yuan)