Demand Remains Steady, Slight Destocking, Iron Ore Fundamentals Unchanged [SMM Iron Ore Daily Comment]

Published: Aug 20, 2026 17:28

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Today, iron ore futures trended weak. The most-traded contract on the DCE, I2701, closed at 707 yuan/mt, down 1.19% from the previous trading day. Spot prices at Qingdao Port fell by 4-5 yuan/mt, traders were less aggressive in offering quotes, steel mills restocked as needed, procurement pace was moderate, and overall spot transaction volumes were low.
The latest SMM survey data on key 10-port inventories showed that total inventory stood at 105.4 million mt, down 1.55 million mt MoM. Among these, except for a slight inventory buildup in concentrate fines, lump ore, pellet and coarse fines all recorded destocking. In the short term, iron ore demand side remains stable. On fundamentals, iron ore prices are likely to consolidate in the near term, while the directional movement depends more on the transmission of news flow. [SMM Steel]

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