On April 30, 2026, DCE iron ore futures strengthened, with the most-traded contract I2609 closing at 796 yuan/mt, up 1.60% from the previous trading session. Spot prices rose 2-5 from the previous day. Traders showed moderate enthusiasm in quoting, steel mills restocked on demand with few inquiries; overall spot transactions were lackluster.
According to the latest SMM statistics, total iron ore inventory at 35 main ports nationwide stood at 150.08 million mt, down 1.09 million mt MoM, showing slight destocking. Meanwhile, daily average port pick-up volume rebounded to 3.305 million mt, up 118,000 mt WoW. Although hot metal production pulled back slightly WoW, the overall destocking trend indicated that iron ore demand remained relatively strong. Currently, restocking demand ahead of the Labour Day holiday has largely concluded, and upward momentum driven by fundamentals is expected to weaken in the short term.
On the other hand, affected by related policy adjustments, market panic emerged over iron ore and downstream trade liquidity, with sentiment continuing to ferment, driving iron ore spot prices to rise sharply. In the short term, iron ore prices may still hold up well, but close attention should be paid to potential impacts from shifts in market sentiment.
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