Pig iron production growth and supply contraction expectations jointly push up iron ore futures prices [SMM Imported Ore Daily Review]

[HRC] Today, the export price of hot-rolled coil rose $1-2/mt day on day, with transaction prices at $495-504/mt. Although the Eid al-Adha holiday in the Middle East ended long ago, traders reported no significant improvement in local market transactions. Recently, it has been heard that inspections of irregular offers at some ports in North China have been tightened.

The DCE iron ore market was slightly stronger in the morning session and rallied at the close today. The most-traded I2609 contract settled at 771.5 yuan/mt, up 1.51% from the previous trading day.

[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Daily Briefing] In terms of news, mainstream steel mills have accepted the sixth round of coke price increases, with wet-quenched coke up by 50 yuan/mt and dry-quenched coke up by 55 yuan/mt, effective from 0:00 on June 10, 2026. Supply side, coking coal prices stayed high overall, with the pace of increases slowing partially. Coke enterprises' raw material costs remained elevated, capacity release was constrained, and tight procurement of high-quality coal feedstocks further limited production. Currently, coke shipments were smooth, and enterprise inventories were generally low. Demand side, hot metal production at steel mill blast furnaces remained high, while their own coke inventories kept declining, providing solid rigid demand support and strong restocking enthusiasm. In summary, market sources indicated that coke enterprises will issue a notice for the seventh round of coke price increases this Friday. The coke market will continue to strengthen in the short term.