News of Crude Steel Output Reduction in Multiple Provinces Suppresses Rebound in Iron Ore Prices [SMM Brief Comment]

Today, DCE iron ore futures fluctuated repeatedly, with the most-traded contract I2509 eventually closing at 698.5, unchanged from yesterday's closing price, and a daily decline of 0.14%. Traders were shipping normally; steel mills were inquiring cautiously and purchasing as needed. The market transaction atmosphere was average. In Shandong, the mainstream transaction prices of PB fines were around 735 yuan/mt, basically flat compared to yesterday's prices; in Tangshan, the transaction prices of PB fines were around 745-750 yuan/mt, also basically flat compared to yesterday's prices.

According to the SMM survey, on May 28, the blast furnace operating rate of 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.35%, down 0.06 percentage point MoM. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4213 million mt, down 9,000 mt MoM. Recently, some steel mills reported that due to the decline in end-use demand, falling finished steel prices, and losses in profits, they planned to formulate maintenance plans after the Dragon Boat Festival. It is expected that blast furnace maintenance plans will gradually increase in June. In addition, there have been frequent reports in the market about the reduction of crude steel production, which is bearish for iron ore. However, the current decline in pig iron production is relatively narrow, and port inventories continue to destock, with iron ore demand still providing support for ore prices. It is expected that iron ore will continue to fluctuate in the doldrums in the short term.

》Subscribe to view SMM metal spot historical prices