The price of iron ore has retreated from its recent rally, but still remains well above the levels it has been trading at in the weeks preceding the slight recovery.

Benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US115.3 a tonne, a decline on the $US117.60 price in the previous session.

Earlier this week, iron ore posted its biggest one-day rise in nine months, and was looking set to push $US118 a tonne.

Last month, the price of iron ore charted its largest one-day price fall in more than four years on persistent fears over China's economy, dropping to as low as $US104.70 a tonne after closing out the previous week at $US114.20 a tonne.

Some analysts have cut growth forecasts for China, and predicted iron ore prices will sink to around $US80 to $US90 per tonne over the next few years.

Investors will now shift their attention to China, where official non-manufacturing PMI and HSBC services PMI will be released today.