[Domestic Iron Ore Brief Review] Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Shandong Region May Remain in the Doldrums

This week in Shandong, the mine-mouth price for 64%-grade alkaline concentrates on a dry basis, excluding taxes, was quoted at 851 yuan, down 17 yuan. Steel mills adjusted their prices accordingly. Most miners maintained normal production, leading to a slight accumulation of inventory. Steel mills had largely completed their stockpiling and only needed to maintain routine procurement. Additionally, with the approach of the Chinese New Year, overall market transactions were relatively sluggish. Coupled with the recent weakening trend in iron ore futures and the decline in imported ore prices, which exerted downward pressure on local domestic iron ore concentrate prices, there were no significant market movements in iron ore prices in the short term. It is expected that local iron ore concentrate prices may remain in the doldrums in the near term. [SMM Steel]