Iron Ore Supply Tight and Demand Climbing, Short-Term Price Support Remains Strong [SMM Imported Ore Daily Brief]

On May 25, 2026, DCE iron ore futures opened higher but pulled back in the afternoon. The most-traded contract I2609 finally closed at 793 yuan/mt, up 0.06% from the previous trading session. Port spot prices were unchanged from the previous day. Traders were moderately active in offering quotes; steel mills purchased as needed with fewer inquiries; as of now, overall spot market transactions remained limited.

Looking ahead, iron ore supply increased in shipments but narrowed slightly on the spot supply side. According to SMM, total global shipments last week were 33.9581 million mt, up 9.82% WoW, while total arrivals in China were 24.31 million mt, down 6% WoW. The rebound in shipments has yet to translate into arrivals, and near-term available resources at ports remained tight. Demand side, some blast furnaces under maintenance this week were planned to resume production, and hot metal production and iron ore procurement were expected to rise in tandem. Amid a near-term supply-demand mismatch, ore prices may find support in the short term and hold up well.