At the end of the latest session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US53.30 a tonne, up 0.4 per cent from $US53.10 a tonne in the prior session.

The commodity has endured a torturous 18 months and while it held up comparatively well over the past month as China showed signs of weakness, it is now failing to rally with the lustre of other commodities and stocks.

Perhaps curbing the commodity’s rally is a shutdown of steel mills near Beijing for a World War II parade, which will begin today.

A push to curb air pollution around Beijing by as much as 40 per cent will see steel mills and other facilities near the capital closed from August 28 to September 4.

The last time a similar event occurred — November last year — steel output slid 6 per cent on the month, with analysts suggesting this event could be more damaging.