"It has been quite crazy this year but this is a normal tailing-off and activities will certainly resume after the Chinese new year," said a trader based in Beijing. Iron ore prices peaked at about $200 per tonne in February and remained within the $170-$180 range until October, when they began a precipitous $50 per tonne collapse amid fears about the state of the economy in China and elsewhere. "I hope in 2012 it won't be as hard to predict," the Beijing trader said. Industry consultancy Mysteel said in a note to clients on Wednesday that transaction volumes would remain low as the year reaches its end and traders choose to settle accounts rather than commit to new purchases. "Trader sentiment is relatively positive and the focus of their attention is on the market situation after the new year," it added. Pilbara fines with 61.5 percent iron content were being offered at $135-138 per tonne on Wednesday including cost and freight, unchanged for the fifth consecutive day, Chinese consultancy Umetal said. The most active rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the Wednesday morning session at 4,229 yuan ($670) per tonne compared with 4,236 yuan at the previous close. Metal Bulletin's 62 percent iron ore index ended Tuesday at $136.04 per tonne, down 16 cents on the day. "Pricing power remains more with the mills at the moment, and we would expect a slow decline in prices this week, although volumes will remain low until January," Metal Bulletin said in a note. The China Iron and Steel Association said on Tuesday that daily steel production stood at 1.666 million tonnes from Dec. 11-20, more than 17 percent lower than its peak at the end of June. According to the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, Chinese steel product consumption is expected to reach 646 million tonnes in 2012, up from 610 million tonnes this year. Demand from the construction sector, which consumes more than half of total steel output, was expected to hit 350 million tonnes, up only 4 percent compared to 2011 with property sector curbs expected to remain in place, it said.