* Dalian iron ore falls as much as 6.1%
* Steel futures recover from Monday's selloff
* Top steelmaking city Tangshan issues smog alert
By Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China fell to their lowest level in nearly three months on Tuesday, as worries mounted over the economic impact of a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, while benchmark steel futures rose after the previous session's selloff.
The Dalian Commodity Exchange's most-traded iron ore contract DCIOcv1 , expiring in May, slumped as much as 6.1% to 569.50 yuan ($81.12) a tonne, its lowest since Nov. 12, before recovering some lost ground to trade 1.2% lower by 0232 GMT.
Spot prices of the key steelmaking raw material have also declined, with a delay in resumption of construction activities after the Lunar New Year break amid the virus outbreak.
The benchmark 62% iron-content ore for delivery to China settled at $83.80 a tonne on Monday, down 13.4% from $96.80 on Jan. 22, and the lowest since Nov. 15, based on data tracked by SteelHome consultancy SH-CCN-IRNOR62 .
Chinese markets had been closed since Jan. 24 for the Lunar New Year holiday, and authorities extended the break to Jan. 31 to contain the outbreak.
The death toll in China from the coronavirus rose by a new daily record of 64 on Monday to 425, the National Health Commission said. All of the new deaths were in central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.
Hubei is China's sixth-largest steel-producing province, accounting for 4% of the country's 2019 crude steel production, according to metals consultancy CRU.
Many factories in China remain closed as several provinces and municipalities, including Shanghai, have extended holidays until Feb. 10 as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.
"The coronavirus could potentially impact the annual level of world trade in 2020, as it's not certain that factories and logistics will be able to catch up and fully compensate for earlier delays, given the limited capacity," ING economists Timme Spakman and Rico Luman wrote in a note.
"If they cannot fully recuperate, global trade growth in 2020 will suffer."
China, the world's to importer of iron ore, produces half of the world's steel supply.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) were higher following news that China's top steelmaking city of Tangshan has issued a second-level heavy pollution alert, effective Tuesday.
* The alert means industrial plants, including steel mills, have to take action to cut emissions and in some cases restrict output.
* ShFE's most-traded construction steel rebar contract SRBcv1 rose as much as 2.3%, while hot-rolled steel coil SHHCcv1 , used in cars and home appliances, jumped 2.3%.
* Shanghai stainless steel futures SHSSc1 were down 0.5%.
* Other ferrous raw materials were also higher, with Dalian coking coal DJMcv1 up as much as 0.7%, while Dalian coke DCJcv1 gained 0.9%.
($1 = 7.0208 yuan)