The price of iron ore continues to trend lower on persistent worries about an oversupply.
At the end of the latest session, benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China was trading at $US50.90 a tonne, down 1 per cent from $US51.40 a tonne in the prior session.
The commodity has lost 10 per cent through a nine-session run of losses, dragging it to its lowest mark since July.
The original catalyst for the red streak was soft economic data out of China and concerns of a peak in steel demand, but the losses have been exacerbated over the past two sessions as BHP Billiton warned high-cost rivals had failed to respond to market forces as quickly as it expected.
"It would be great if the top part of the cost curve, because we're not part of it, moved more quickly rather than hope they could survive forever," BHP boss Andrew Mackenzie said last week.
"It would be wonderful if there was more instant reaction, but we know people aim to survive."
The lack of supply cutbacks comes as Gina Rinehart prepares to bring her mammoth Roy Hill mine into operation next month.
Given the limited action on supply all eyes are on China and how demand will hold up as the economy slows. Economic figures have not been kind of late, but news of a rate cut out of Beijing on Friday night may offer some temporary relief.