Maintenance Increases Suppress Rigid Demand for Iron Ore; Ore Prices Remain Strong Under Sentiment Dominance [SMM Iron Ore Daily Review]

Published: Sep 8, 2026 18:19

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[SMM Iron Ore Daily Briefing]

Iron ore futures were relatively strong today. The most-traded DCE I2701 contract closed at 744.5 yuan/mt, up 1.36% from the previous trading day. Qingdao Port spot prices rose by an average of 6-7 yuan/mt. Traders were moderately active in quoting, steel mills showed a strong wait-and-see stance, and overall spot trading was relatively subdued.

Persistently rising raw material prices pushed up steel mills’ production costs, keeping profit margins under pressure. Some steel mills with relatively severe losses stepped up maintenance, and rigid demand for iron ore pulled back recently. According to the SMM survey, the hot metal impact from blast furnace maintenance this week was 1.3834 million mt, an increase of 23,600 mt MoM.

However, on the supply side, international bulk carriers were affected by tight shipping capacity and higher diesel costs, with freight rates continuing to rise, providing cost support for ore prices. Meanwhile, the market held strong expectations for the “September-October peak season,” and funds took advantage of the momentum to push up futures. Therefore, in the short term, iron ore prices may deviate from fundamentals in stages and maintain a relatively strong trend under sentiment-driven trading. [SMM Steel]

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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