The spot price of iron ore in China fell 4.53 percent, or 29 yuan, per ton in June compared with that of last December.

Thursday's China Securities Journal citied China's Ministry of Commerce as saying that the iron ore market is comparatively slackas most domestic manufacturers have sufficient iron ore stocks in hand.

The spot price of iron ore is greatly affected by the increase of domestic output of iron ore, the newspaper said.

In the first five months, China's output of iron ore reached 191 million tons, an increase of 31.5 percent over the same period of last year.

Abundant stocks at major docks have also driven down the spot price of iron ore. By June 16, stockpiles of iron ore at major docks hit 43.6 million tons, with several docks saturated.

Insiders predicted that the spot prices of iron ore will continue to decline in the second half of the year as the demand for steel is also expected to decline due to the government's macro-control measures.

After tough international negotiations, Chinese steelmakers accepted a 19-percent price hike in imported ore prices in June, following a record 71.5 percent hike in 2005. China accounts for 43 percent of global imports of iron ore.

The new price will pressure Chinese steel producers to raise their prices, experts said.

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