[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Inventory] Coke inventory at coking plants was 476,000 mt this week.

Today, the DCE iron ore futures showed a steady performance in the morning session but weakened in the afternoon. The DCE benchmark contract I2701 closed at 716.5 yuan/ton, down 0.28% from the previous trading day.

[Flat products]Today HRC and other flat-product export prices were steady day on day, with HRC transactions concentrated in the 490-493 USD/tonne range. There was no marked change in the market; with maintenance plans ahead, some mills are in no hurry to release orders. [Billet]Today billet export FOB prices edged up by 1-2 USD/tonne, with Jiangyin port offers at 458-464 USD/tonne. According to feedback, production costs at exporting mills keep building up and mills are firm on prices, while overseas demand is mediocre and buyers' price expectations have not risen in step, making deals difficult to conclude. [Rebar]Today rebar export offers at Tianjin port held steady, with transactions overall at 478-483 USD/tonne. Exporters reported mediocre enquiry activity today with no marked change from yesterday, and some mills concluded small-lot orders.

HRC futures moved sideways today, with the most-traded HC2610 contract closing at 3,342 yuan/mt, edging up 0.09% on the day. In the spot market, most quotes remained stable and intraday trading was sluggish. SMM released its weekly balance data today, showing weekly production pulled back slightly and apparent demand continued to pull back. Inventory side, SMM’s national social HRC inventory across 86 warehouses (large sample) stood at 4.6308 million mt this week, up 132,700 mt (2.95%) MoM and up 29.86% YoY. By region, except for destocking in South China, all other regions saw inventory buildup, mainly due to earlier typhoon-driven sharp increases in arrivals combined with weak downstream demand, which further widened the buildup pace. News side, there were reports of supply deficit in Shanxi coal, and after the second round of coke price increases materialized, expectations for further increases persisted. Hence, with strong support from the cost side, HRC prices will stay high.