* More client inquiries after fall in iron ore prices     * China port stockpiles at record high of 110.6 mln tonnes     * Port Hedland tugboat workers vote to strike, ore futures gain   (Adds Port Hedland strike plan, updates prices)     By Manolo Serapio Jr     SINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel rebar futures rose on Monday after a three-day slide, tracking stronger equities, although a weak outlook for demand in top consumer China capped gains.     A fall in spot iron ore prices to near $100 a tonne, the lowest level since September 2012, has spurred interest among some Chinese steel mills, but traders say a breach of that level remains on the cards amid ample spot supplies.     Iron ore futures in China and Singapore rose after tugboat workers at Australia's Port Hedland, which handles a fourth of globally traded iron ore, voted to strike.      The most-traded rebar contract for October delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange  
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   closed up 0.7 percent at 3,193 yuan ($510) a tonne. It fell to 3,152 yuan earlier, the second lowest for a most-active contract since the bourse launched them in 2009.     A spike in Chinese shares, which gained 2 percent after Beijing pledged to push ahead with capital market reforms, helped rebar regain some ground, but the fundamentals for the steel sector remain weak, said Zhou Ting, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in Shenzhen.   
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       "The outlook for steel continues to be bleak because the Chinese real estate market is undergoing a very tough period. Some of them are in need of money and because of tighter credit, they're trying to destock so real estate investment has slowed," said Ting.         Rebar, a steel product used in construction, could fall further to 3,000 yuan in the near term, he said.     The price of steel billet in China's key Tangshan area fell another 40 yuan to 2,850 yuan per tonne over the weekend, traders said, reflecting slow demand.     Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel)  
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  , China's biggest listed steelmaker, slashed prices for a second straight month in June.  
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       "We think Baosteel's price cut will further dampen market sentiment towards steel sector. If steel prices cannot be held stable through June, then it will be less likely to see a rebound through the slow summer season in July and August, in our view," Helen Lau, a senior mining analyst at UOB-Kay Hian Securities, said in a note.          PORT HEDLAND STRIKE     The weaker steel market in China along with ample supplies had dragged down spot iron ore prices, which have lost 14 percent since peaking at above $119 a tonne in early April.     Iron ore for immediate delivery to China  
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   dropped nearly 1 percent to $102.70 a tonne on Friday, the lowest since Sept. 14, 2012, based on data compiled by Steel Index.     "I think a price lower than $100 is very possible right now. However, many buyers are asking for cargoes after the latest price drop so the market seems a little warmer," said an iron ore trader in Rizhao city in China's eastern Shandong province.      Top miner Vale  
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   is offering a 150,000-tonne cargo of 64.04-percent grade Brazilian Carajas iron ore fines at a tender on Monday after selling nearly 800,000 tonnes via tenders last week, traders said.     Rio Tinto  
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   is selling 170,000 tonnes of 61 percent grade Australian Pilbara iron ore fines in a separate tender on Monday, traders said.       A fall in iron ore below $100 a tonne may shut high-cost mines in China and fuel demand for imported iron ore, ANZ Bank said.     "Past episodes of depressed prices have resulted in domestic producers stepping down production until prices recover. A marked reduction in domestic supply is positive for seaborne iron ore demand," ANZ said in a note.     Tugboat workers at Port Hedland, Australia's biggest iron ore port, have approved a plan to go on strike, which could halt a quarter of the world's iron ore exports.      No date or timeframe has been set for a strike at the port used by BHP Billiton  
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   and Fortescue Metals Group  
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  . Together they account for more than half of Australia's iron ore exports.  
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       Iron ore futures in Singapore gained on the news, with the May contract  
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   up 1 percent at $104.25 a tonne. The most-active September iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange  
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   rose 0.7 percent to settle at 741 yuan a tonne, recovering from a seven-week low of 726 yuan touched earlier.      But traders said while a potential disruption in shipments may provide a floor to iron ore prices, it is unlikely to fuel a rally.     "There may be some positive impact on sentiment, but I don't think this will change the situation which is that the market is actually over supplied," said an iron ore trader in Shanghai.          Stocks of imported iron ore at 44 Chinese ports stood at a record high of 110.55 million tonnes as of May 9, according to industry consultancy Steelhome.      Contract                      Last      Change       Pct Change  SHFE REBAR OCT4                   3193    +21.00        +0.66  DALIAN IRON ORE DCE DCIO SEP4      741     +5.00        +0.68  THE STEEL INDEX 62 PCT INDEX     102.7     -1.00        -0.96  METAL BULLETIN INDEX             103.03    -2.21        -2.10    SGX IO 62%Fe MAY14  SWAP         103.25    -0.33        -0.32  Dalian iron ore and Shanghai rebar in yuan/tonne  Index and swaps in dollars/tonne, show close for the previous trading day ($1 = 6.2280 Chinese yuan)   (Editing by Anand Basu and Prateek Chatterjee)  ((manolo.serapio@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3884)(Reuters Messaging: manolo.serapio.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))  Keywords: MARKETS IRONORE/