SHANGHAI, Sep 13(SMM) – HRC futures prices dropped at first and rebounded slightly, then finally closed at 3,852 yuan/mt, down 0.59% from the previous trading day. Spot market quotations decreased by 20 yuan/mt compared with yesterday. According to SMM research, on September 13, the blast furnace operating rate calculated by SMM was 93.01%, a decrease of 0.45% from last week. The average daily pig iron production of sample steel plants was 2.2392 million mt, a decrease of 18,600 mt WoW. On the demand side, the current downstream purchases were still cautious since markets had doubts about subsequent rigid consumption improvement. Macro data released in August picked up trading sentiment. Supported by raw materials’ price, it is difficult for HRC prices to fall significantly. However, the imbalance between supply and demand is expected to intensify, so the upward trend is muted. After entering the peak season, the sustainability of promoting the effect on demand markets still needs to be observed.