Without prominent fundamentals contradictions, short-term steel prices are likely to remain in narrow range

Last week, the ferrous metals series started strong but weakened later. On the news front, data showed that GDP grew by 5% YoY in H1; the Third Plenary Session was held on Wednesday, and market expectations for economic stimulus in Q3 and Q4 strengthened. Overseas, traders for the first time priced in a 100% chance of a US Fed rate cut in September. In the spot market, the alternation of new and old national standards disturbed market sentiment, and the impact of the off-season continued. With weaker steel prices last week, end-users were cautious in their purchases.

In the short term, according to SMM, as pig iron output is expected to narrowly fluctuate in the next 2-3 weeks, furnace charge prices have limited downside room. For steel, as the inventory of the five major types continued to fall, the overall supply-demand mismatch was minimal. It is expected that short-term steel prices will continue to fluctuate. Attention should be paid to the impact of macro and external news.