Dalian iron ore futures prices ended a four-day streak of increases on Monday. Rising taxes on Chinese steel have reduced the prospects for demand for this key ingredient in steel manufacturing, although dwindling port stocks in China have limited the fall.

The most traded iron ore contract in May on the Chinese Commodity Exchange in Dalian (DCE) fell by 0.89% to 831.5 yuan (114.87 dollars) per metric ton, at 02:50 GMT. According to a document from the Ministry of Commerce, the March reference price of iron ore on the Singapore Stock Exchange fell by 0.22% to 108.25 dollars per ton. Vietnam will impose a temporary anti-dumping tax of up to 27.83% on certain steel products

Iron ore stocks in Chinese ports fell by 1.15% to 145.8 million tons as of February 21, according to weekly data monitored by SteelHome. Other steel-making ingredients on DCE fell, with coking coal and coke falling by 1.77% and 2.46% respectively