[SMM Lecong HRC Inventory] Lecong Inventory Continued Its Healthy Destocking Trend This Week

The Indian Ministry of Steel has scheduled the "Bharat Steel 2026" conference for April 16-17, 2026, aimed at finalizing an actionable roadmap to reach a national crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Key focus areas include raw material security, domestic iron ore supply chain optimization, and the integration of green hydrogen into steelmaking. The event will also feature roundtables on enhancing technology cooperation with Russia and Brazil to ensure stable imports of high-grade ores, directly impacting the strategic positioning of India in the global seaborne iron ore trade.

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has announced it will begin trial operations of a new pilot plant in July 2026 that utilizes molten phase processing to produce steel directly from iron ore. This revolutionary technology aims to bypass the traditional sintering and pelletizing stages, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 50% compared to traditional blast furnace routes. The success of this trial would allow POSCO to utilize a broader range of domestic and imported low-grade iron ores that were previously unsuitable for high-efficiency steelmaking, significantly impacting global raw material demand patterns.

Data released on April 2, 2026, shows that Canadian iron ore production fell by 8.6% in January 2026 compared to the previous month. This decline is attributed to seasonal logistics bottlenecks in the Labrador Trough and scheduled maintenance at several major concentration plants. Despite the short-term dip, Canadian producers are increasingly positioning themselves as key suppliers of high-grade, low-impurity concentrate required for Direct Reduction (DR) steelmaking, with several expansion projects in the Quebec-Labrador region aimed at filling the emerging global supply deficit for DR-grade ore.