June iron ore imports at 75.08 mln T vs 83.75 mln T in May...

• June iron ore imports at 75.08 mln T vs 83.75 mln T in May
• Supply crunch at top miners remains
• Demand at Chinese mills could ease due to anti-smog measures

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BEIJING, July 12 (Reuters) - China's iron ore imports in June fell from a year ago, touching their lowest since February 2016, according to a Reuters' calculation based on official data released on Friday, as supply declined from top miners in Brazil and Australia.

Arrivals of the steelmaking raw material were 75.08 million tonnes last month, Reuters' calculations showed, below both the 83.24 million tonnes imported in June 2018 and May's 83.75 million tonnes.

For the first-half of the year, the world's biggest iron ore consumer brought in 499 million tonnes of ore, down 5.9% from the same period a year ago, the customs data showed.

Supply from Brazil has been hit following the deadly rupture of a tailings dam in January. Elsewhere, Rio Tinto (RIO) RIO.L , the world's largest iron ore miner, has cut its forecast for 2019 shipments from the Australian region of Pilbara due to operational problems.

Inventory of imported iron ore at Chinese ports had fallen to a 2-1/2-month low of 115.25 million tonnes by the end of June, according to data compiled by SteelHome consultancy. It rebounded slightly to 115.6 million tonnes last week.

"Iron ore supply may not see much improvement as some miners have scheduled maintenance in the coming months, while output from Vale is not likely to pick up largely in the near term," said Richard Lu, analyst at CRU in Beijing.

Chinese demand for iron ore could ease as top steelmaking cities in China heighten anti-pollution measures, including trimming more production at mills, as local officials face mounting pressure to meet air quality targets.

Utilisation rates at steel mills across China fell to 66.02% as of Friday, the lowest level since late March, data compiled by Mysteel consultancy showed.

"With top steel hub cutting output, mills in other regions may take the chance to ramp up production. In that sense, total iron ore demand in China may not fall too much," said Lu.