Today, the DCE iron ore futures market was in the doldrums, with the most-traded contract I2509 closing at 727, up 1.24% for the day. Traders sold goods in line with market conditions.

[SMM Rebar Daily Review: Demand Limited by High Temperatures in the North and Rainfall in the South, with Potential Demand Release Before the Dragon Boat Festival] This week, rebar prices fluctuated upward and held up well, with the current nationwide average price at 3,164 yuan/mt, down 44 yuan/mt WoW.

[Brief Review of Domestic Iron Ore Market: Iron Ore Concentrates Prices in West Liaoning May Remain in the Doldrums] Prices at mines and beneficiation plants in west Liaoning have been relatively stable, with ex-factory prices (wet basis, excluding tax) for 66% grade iron ore concentrates ranging from 700 to 710 yuan/mt. There has been a divergence in beneficiation operations, with some operations still refusing to budge on prices, while others have been selling in line with market conditions. Overall, transaction volumes have been average. Recently, feedback from mines and beneficiation plants indicates that relevant provincial departments will conduct inspections of local mine and beneficiation tailings ponds.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Stainless Steel Prices Continue to Fluctuate at Lows Amid Supply-Demand Imbalance and High Inventory] SMM reported on May 23 that today, the SS futures market continued to fluctuate. As macro-level disruptions gradually faded this week, market logic returned to being dominated by fundamentals. The demand side showed clear signs of weakness, with downstream consumption remaining sluggish, and market transactions were sluggish throughout the week. On the supply side, stainless steel enterprises' production cuts were limited, and the overall market supply remained abundant. To alleviate shipping pressure, traders had to adopt profit-yielding sales promotion strategies. Meanwhile, stainless steel social inventory continued to remain at historically high levels, further exacerbating market pessimism. Under the dual pressures of supply-demand imbalance and high inventory, market participants lacked confidence in the future market, and stainless steel prices continued to run at low levels. In the futures market, the most-traded 2507 contract fluctuated. At 10:30 a.m., SS2507 was quoted at 12,895 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi region, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B stainless steel ranged from 325-525 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 8,000 yuan/mt; cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils had an average price of 13,150 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,150 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 23,975 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 23,975 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted at 23,350 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coils were both priced at 7,500 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan. As macro-level factors that frequently disrupted the market in the early stage...

As of May 23, SMM data showed that the total inventory at 35 ports was 139.66 million mt, a decrease of 280,000 mt from before the holiday and a decrease of 350,000 mt WoW. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore was 3.019 million mt, a decrease of 129,000 mt from before the holiday. Recently, global shipments have been at a low level, with a slight overall decline in port arrivals. In terms of port cargo pick-up, steel mills intensified their restocking efforts before the holiday, but slowed down their procurement pace after the holiday, leading to a downward trend in port pick-up volume. As a result, the overall port inventory showed a slight decline.

Recently, Ansteel Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. stated in an investor relations activity that the company's iron ore concentrates purchases mainly come from Ansteel Group's own iron ore mines and imports, with the proportion of purchases from Ansteel Group's own iron ore mines being higher than that of imported iron ore.