iron ore news

* Chinese mills sell long-term iron ore contracts-trader
    * Spot iron ore rose for a 5th day on Monday
    * BHP eyes more job cuts at Australian iron ore unit

 (Updates prices)
    By Manolo Serapio Jr
    SINGAPORE, June 24 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures in China and
Singapore edged lower again on Tuesday, after recent gains,
pressured by plentiful supply forcing Chinese mills to unload
more cargoes into the market.
    An upbeat reading on China's manufacturing sector for June
helped boost spot iron ore prices on Monday, but traders say the
raw material may decline again as supply outstrips growth in
demand from the world's top importer.
    Chinese steel producers are selling iron ore cargoes
arriving in July under their long-term contracts with miners and
using the cash to buy cheaper iron ore sitting at China's ports,
said a trader in Shanghai.
    "We're doing this business now with mills who are trying to
sell their long-term cargoes that are index-based and are more
expensive than those at the ports," he said. 
    Australian 61-percent grade Pilbara iron ore fines are
currently trading at around 600 yuan a tonne at China's Shandong
port, or about $82-$83 excluding port charges and taxes, he
said. That compares to a price of $93 per tonne for a new
seaborne cargo of the same grade on Monday, he added. 
    The global iron ore supply surplus, which Goldman Sachs sees
hitting 72 million tonnes this year, has pushed Chinese mills to
cut back on long-term contracts in favour of cheaper spot
cargoes. 
    Iron ore for delivery in September on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange closed 1 percent lower at 683 yuan ($110) a
tonne. It touched a three-week high of 699 yuan on Monday.
    The August iron ore contract on the Singapore Exchange
 dropped 1.1 percent to $92.87 a tonne, with the July
and September contracts <0#SZZF:> also slipping. 
    The weaker futures could weigh on spot iron ore prices which
have rebounded since hitting a 21-month low last week.
    Benchmark 62-percent grade ore for immediate delivery to
China .IO62-CNI=SI climbed 1.4 percent to $93.40 a tonne on
Monday, according to data provider Steel Index. It marked a
fifth straight day of gains since the price struck $89 on June
16, the lowest since September 2012.
    
    BHP SEES MORE JOB CUTS
    Iron ore, the top business for global miners Vale 
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, has lost more than 30
percent of its value this year. 
    It has stayed below $100 a tonne for five weeks, far longer
than it did during the September 2012 slump, prompting even
low-cost producers such as BHP to look at trimming costs further
to stay competitive.
    BHP, the world's third-biggest iron ore miner, said it is
planning to cut more jobs at its Australian iron ore division as
it seeks to reduce costs.
    BHP employs about 16,000 people in its iron ore division and
earlier this year said that 170 jobs would go at its Whaleback
mine in the Pilbara iron ore belt. A further 100 people have
been let go at the division's Perth headquarters.
 
    Coping with rising supply and stiffer competition,
Australian rivals Rio and Fortescue Metals Group are
making deeper cuts in prices of low-grade iron ore cargoes to
China. 
    "It's quite tough on the ground. There's still too much
cargo available and mills don't want to chase prices because
they've got plenty of buying options," said another
Shanghai-based trader.
    Stocks of imported iron ore at 44 Chinese ports stood at
113.65 million tonnes as of June 20, exceeding the previous
record of 113.60 million tonnes reached in end-May, based on
data from industry consultancy Steelhome. SH-TOT-IRONINV
     
 Shanghai rebar futures and iron ore indexes at 0714 GMT
 Contract                          Last    Change   Pct Change
 SHFE REBAR OCT4                   3064     +0.00        +0.00
 DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO SEP4      683     -7.00        -1.01
 SGX IRON ORE FUTURES JULY        93.38     -0.62        -0.66
 THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX      93.4     +1.30        +1.41
 METAL BULLETIN INDEX             93.74     +1.61        +1.75
 Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne
 Index in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day
 
($1 = 6.2090 Chinese Yuan Renminbi)    

 (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Michael Perry and
Subhranshu Sahu)