UPDATE 1-Taiwan's China Steel to ask for iron ore delivery delays

* China Steel cuts output amid weaker global economy

* SKorea's POSCO, Hyundai Steel not postponing deliveries

TAIPEI Nov 18 (Reuters) - China Steel, Taiwan's top steelmaker, plans to ask miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to delay iron ore and coking coal deliveries as a slower global economy prompts it to cut output, a senior company official said.

Sluggish demand has forced steelmakers across Asia to curb production, although China Steel may be among the first to have sought a delay in raw material shipments.

"We are getting ready to talk to our suppliers about that in hopes they can put off their shipment," said a China Steel executive, who asked not to be identified, when asked whether the company has asked to postpone raw material deliveries.

"The euro zone debt crisis is widening and the U.S. economy is not in good shape.

"We have adjusted our output for November and will continue into December due to regular maintenance of manufacturing equipment," said the executive.

Analysts say the Taiwanese steelmaker's plan was not too surprising given the gloomy state of the regional economy and elsewhere.

"In the Asia Pacific market, except for the Chinese, no one is seriously buying because outside of China, demand is quite flat right now," said Henry Liu, head of commodity research at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong.

Steel mills in China have also reduced production although the cuts have been marginal, said Liu, allowing producers to continue buying iron ore.

NO MODIFICATION

China is the world's biggest steel producer and consumer and buys around two-thirds of the world's seaborne iron ore, a market controlled by Rio, BHP and Brazil's Vale.

Firm Chinese demand helped iron ore prices rebound more than 26 percent to $147.60 a tonne on Thursday, after hitting a 22-month trough below $117 in late October.

Taiwan's China Steel produced 9.72 million tonnes of steel in 2010, according to its website. Mainland China's crude steel output stood at nearly 627 million tonnes last year.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese producers have also been cutting output to deal with uncertain market conditions.

On Wednesday, Nippon Steel Corp, the world's No. 4 steelmaker, said it plans to slash output by another 250,000 tonnes in October-March, on top of the previously announced 800,000-tonne cut.

South Korea's POSCO, the world's third-biggest producer, has no plans to cut production nor delay shipment of raw material deliveries, a source from the company said.

Hyundai Steel, South Korea's second-biggest steelmaker, is of the same view.

"Our furnaces are currently at full operation. With no production reduction scheduled, we have no modification in raw material shipments. We focus only on internal cost reduction to minimize impacts from any slowdown in the markets," said a Hyundai Steel spokesperson.

Stocks of China Steel ended down 1.75 percent on Friday, versus the broader market's 2.08 percent slump.