Iron ore tumbles as recession fears feed gloomy demand outlook

July 1 (Reuters) - Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures tumbled on Friday, with growing fears of a deeper global economic downturn adding to lingering concerns about demand for the steelmaking ingredient in China.

Steel mills in China, the world's biggest producer of the manufacturing and construction material, have idled dozens of blast furnaces recently in a bid to reduce high inventories amid weak domestic demand.

The production slowdown is also due to China's resolve to continue reducing annual steel output in line with its decarbonisation goals.

Iron ore's most-traded September contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended morning trade 4.8% lower at 764 yuan ($113.95) a tonne, capping its weekly gain at less than 3%.

On the Singapore Exchange, iron ore's front-month August contract SZZFQ2 slumped up to 4.1% to $114.10 a tonne.