Iron ore rebounds as falling China steel inventory lends support

July 22 (Reuters) - Iron ore futures rose on Friday, with the Dalian benchmark contract rebounding from a seven-month low, as falling steel inventories in China spurred hopes for some replenishment-driven demand.

In Singapore, the steelmaking ingredient climbed back above the $100 mark and was on track for a weekly gain, as Brazilian miner Vale SA's VALE3.SA move to cut its 2022 iron ore production forecast provided additional boost.

The most-traded iron ore, for September delivery, on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 3.6% up at 681 yuan ($100.68) a tonne. Thursday's close at 657.50 yuan was its weakest since Dec. 29.

Iron ore's front-month August contract on the Singapore Exchange SZZFQ2 rose 3.5% to $101.35 a tonne, as of 0704 GMT.

Inventories of rebar, wire rod, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil and medium plate held by the 184 Chinese steel mills regularly surveyed by Mysteel consultancy declined at the faster pace of 6.8% on week to a near six-month low of 5.7 million tonnes over July 14-20.