Reuters reported that Shanghai steel futures fell for a third day in a row to trade near all time lows amid a shaky outlook for demand in top consumer China, denting appetite for raw material iron ore.

The most-traded rebar for delivery in May on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit a bottom of CNY 3,386 per tonne for the session near the CNY 3,380 low reached on February 10,which was its weakest since the exchange launched rebar futures in 2009.

Shanghai rebar futures have mostly fallen since early December and prospects for a recovery are dim on signs that China's economic growth will cool further this year, led by weak manufacturing activity.

That has put renewed pressure on spot iron ore prices stalling a recovery from 7 month lows and high stockpiles of imported material in China suggest there is no urgency among steel producers to buy more.