By Sara Sjolin and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch U.K. regulator caps charges issued by payday lenders

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged higher Tuesday as Vodafone Group PLC surged on a well-received earnings report, but losses among mining stocks after a downbeat outlook for iron-ore prices limited gains for the benchmark.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 6,619, though even a small advance would mark the index's fifth straight gain in a row.

A decline among mining stocks cut into the FTSE 100's gain as Citi downgraded its view on iron ore prices. It expects an average price of $74 a metric ton in the first quarter of 2015, then a drop to $60 a metric ton in the third quarter and "briefly dipping into the $50s." It foresees annual average prices of $65 a metric ton in 2015 and 2016.

Shares of Anglo American PLC fell 1.7%, Rio Tinto PLC lost 1.5%, and BHP Billiton PLC fell 1.1%.

There is likely to be "a further deterioration in [Chinese] steel demand in Q1 on the back of extremely tight credit conditions in 2Q14 (typically there is a six month lag to steel demand), slowing of manufacturing export growth, and the government prioritizing reform over short-term growth," wrote Citi analyst Ivan Szpakowski in a Tuesday note.

But shares of Vodafone (VOD) kept their position as the benchmark's top gainer, climbing 6.3% after the telecoms giant said performance across its key European markets is showing improvement.

Among other top performers, shares of Land Securities Group PLC rose 2.6% after the commercial property company said its adjusted net asset value rose 11.5% in the first half.

In other U.K. developments on Tuesday, the Financial Conduct Authority said charges from payday lenders including interest and fees may not exceed 0.8% a day of the amount borrowed by its customers. Also, default fees cannot be more than GBP15 ($23.80) and customers shouldn't pay back more than twice the amount borrowed. The new rules will be in effect in January, and may result in only a "few" payday lenders surviving, FCA chief Martin Wheatley told the BBC.

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Will you be in London on Dec. 3? Then you're invited to our MarketWatch Investing Insights event, "The worse Europe gets, the more you should invest"

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