Environmental Protection-Driven Production Restrictions Continued, Hot Metal Production Declined Significantly

Iron ore futures showed strength today, with the main contract I2605 ultimately closing at 795.5 RMB per ton, up 1.34% from the previous trading session.

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Downstream Procurement Sentiment in the Silicone Market Remained Cautious, and New Order Transactions Were Relatively Weak] After completing the price increase last week, quoted prices generally remained stable this week, but actual market transactions were relatively weak. Cost side, affected by geopolitical developments, raw material methanol prices held up well, which also provided some support for silicone DMC prices. However, subsequent impacts and changes still require close attention to the extent of raw material price fluctuations and the duration of their effects.

The most-traded hot-rolled coil contract closed at 3,275 today, up 0.37%. In the spot market, spot prices of cold-rolled and hot-rolled products in some regions edged up slightly, but actual transactions were mediocre after the increase. Intraday, iron ore, coal, and coke on the raw material side were all disturbed by news flow, driving raw material prices to hold up well. In the short term, before no clear increase in domestic and external demand for hot-rolled coil emerges, prices were likely to continue following costs and hold up well. Focus on the 05 contract around 3,315.