Iron ore futures trended strongly today. The DCE most-traded contract I2609 closed at 747.5 yuan/mt, up 0.74%. Spot prices at Qingdao Port rose about 5-8 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Trader activity was moderate, with few inquiries from steel mills. Currently, spot transactions remained weak.
Steel mills' demand for iron ore has slowed down recently. According to SMM, inventories at the ten major ports totaled 105.63 million mt, down only 640,000 mt WoW. Based on the current inventory structure, destocking of iron ore concentrate and lump ore was relatively significant, pellet inventories were at low levels, while fine ore saw slight inventory buildup. Demand side, the market remained in off-season conditions. Although the environmental protection-driven production restriction policy was relatively mild, steel mills still faced a certain probability of proactive blast furnace maintenance. Next week, expectations for the Politburo meeting may heat up, which could boost market sentiment in the short term. However, overall, short-term iron ore prices are expected to continue moving sideways in a narrow range. [SMM Steel]
![[SMM Iron Ore] 23 June - Port inventory destocking continues, and the four major iron ore varieties show divergence](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/mpffV20251217171715.jpg)
