Tariffs Cool Down, Iron Ore Prices Surge Significantly [SMM Brief Review]

Today, iron ore futures surged significantly, with the most-traded contract I2509 closing at 727.5, up 2.11% for the day. Traders were active in selling, while steel mills mainly purchased as needed. The market trading atmosphere was moderate. In Shandong, the mainstream transaction prices for PB fines were around 775 yuan/mt, up 3-5 yuan/mt from yesterday. In Tangshan, the transaction prices for PB fines were around 775-780 yuan/mt, down 2-5 yuan/mt from yesterday. US President Trump acknowledged on Tuesday (April 22) in a public speech that the current tariffs on Chinese exports to the US are too high and are expected to be significantly reduced. This marks a softening of Trump's stance on his signature tariff policy. Market sentiment was optimistic, driving a significant rise in the futures market. Additionally, according to an SMM survey, on April 23, the blast furnace operating rate of 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.58%, up 0.8 percentage points MoM. The blast furnace capacity utilization rate was 90.49%, up 0.66 percentage points MoM. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4415 million mt, up 16,700 mt MoM. Under the combined influence of macro and fundamental factors, ore prices are expected to hold up well in the short term.

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