[Brief Comment on Domestic Iron Ore Market] There may be some upside potential for iron ore concentrates prices in the Tangshan region

At the beginning of the week, the domestic ore market in Tangshan remained generally stable, with local delivery-to-factory prices for 66% grade dry basis ore (tax-inclusive) at 870-880 yuan/mt. Recently, some resources from Shandong have flowed to Hebei, driving improvements in resource outflow. Local concentrates producers, considering the recent rise in raw material costs and high production costs, maintained firm asking prices. Amid the supply-demand stalemate, transactions slowed down. Steel mills are currently focusing on purchasing as needed, but the current pig iron production of steel mill blast furnaces remains at high levels, providing some support for the demand for iron ore concentrates. Coupled with the recent stronger trend in the futures market for iron ore, it is expected that local iron ore concentrate prices still have some room for further increases. [SMM Steel]