IRON ORE FUTURES HAVE A MODEST HIGH AFTER CHINA CUT INTEREST RATE

Dalian iron ore futures edged higher on Monday after China's central bank cut interest rates
for the sixth time in less than a year to spur a slowing economy.

    The modest gains in iron ore futures, in China as well as in Singapore, suggest the raw material is still under pressure from a weak Chinese steel market. Shanghai rebar steel future
hovered near a record low.
    "The market for steel products remains weak so mills are pushing to lower their cost," said a Shanghai-based iron ore trader. 

    The most-traded January iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 0.4 percent at 367.50 yuan ($58) a tonne by midday. On the Singapore Exchange, November iron ore
 was nearly flat at $48.84 a tonne.