Dalian iron ore futures continued to fluctuate with a firm tone today. The main contract, I2605, ultimately closed at 780, up 0.52% from the previous working day. Traders sold cargoes at prevailing market rates,

As of December 16, the operating rate of 50 electric furnace steel mills producing building materials nationwide stood at 39.82%, flat WoW; the capacity utilization rate was 41.83%, down 0.23% WoW; the daily average production of building materials was 93.2 kt, down 500 mt WoW.

The main iron ore contract, I2605, trended strongly, closing at 777.5 CNY/tonne, up 1.63% from the previous trading day. Traders were active in offloading cargoes, whilst steel mills remained cautious

Today the most-traded iron ore contract I2605 continued to fluctuate upward, closing at 768 yuan/mt, up 1.25% from the previous working day. Traders actively sold goods, while steel mills cautiously waited and purchased as needed.

Today, DCE iron ore prices trended stronger, with the most-traded contract I2605 closing at 761 yuan, up 1.06% from the previous working day. Spot prices rose 3–5 yuan/mt from the previous day.

Last week, China's export offers continued to decline amid fading expectations for macro policy support, falling costs of raw materials like coking coal, and short-term uncertainties brought by the new export license policy. By the end of last week, China's HRC export offers were at $457-462/mt; steel billet export offers were at $434-442/mt. Domestic buying interest tapered off, as some rushed to expedite shipments due to concerns over export licenses, while most adopted a wait-and-see stance. Regular export traders mostly showed mediocre performance, still quoting normally, but remained doubtful about the implementation of subsequent policies. Therefore, short-term order-taking is expected to have pullback room, but long-term impacts still depend on policy implementation.

Today, the DCE iron ore contract fluctuated at weak bias as the main contract I2605 finally closed at 753, down 0.92% from the previous working day.

After market close, the Ministry of Commerce issued policies regarding the management of steel product export licenses, confirming market rumors from the past two days. This move exceeded general expectations, as previous speculation about such measures had often been dismissed as "crying wolf." Now, the policy has indeed arrived. What is the actual situation? Let’s examine SMM’s analysis.

Today, the DCE iron prices fluctuated within a narrow range, with the main contract I2605 closing at 760.5, down 0.33% compared to the previous trading day. Traders adjusted their sales strategies based on market conditions.

According to an SMM survey, SMM’s large-caliber HRC inventory in Ningbo stood at 327,900 mt as of 12.10, up 3,900 mt WoW.This week HRC prices fluctuated downward; spot prices fell 40-90 yuan/mt WoW, and overall market sentiment stayed weak. By the 12.12 afternoon close, the most-traded HRC 2605 contract settled at 3,232 yuan/mt.