As of August 5, the operating rate of 50 electric furnace steel mills nationwide, which mainly produce building materials, stood at 40.68%, up 2.86% MoM from the previous period; the capacity utilization rate was 41.2%, up 2.59% MoM; the daily average production of building materials was 91,600 mt, up 5,800 mt MoM.

However, due to allegations that importers are circumventing the existing anti-dumping duties by importing wire rod products with slightly lower carbon content, an anti-circumvention investigation has been initiated on the Chinese products under investigation. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total export volume of the products under investigation from China to Thailand in the first six months of 2025 was 371,600 mt, accounting for 42.75% of China's total export volume of the products under investigation, with an overall significant impact. In extreme cases, this may lead to a decrease of 371,600 mt in China's total export volume in 2026. Data shows that the top five countries in terms of export volume of the products under investigation from China are Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Thailand ranks first. Meanwhile, in the ranking of changes in the total export destinations of China's steel products from January to June 2025, Thailand also ranks second in terms of incremental volume. Thailand has already imposed relevant anti-dumping duties on most of China's steel products and initiated an anti-circumvention investigation on China's cold-rolled steel plate products in July 2025, which will further increase the difficulty of exporting domestic steel products to Thailand.

After opening, DCE iron ore futures first fell and then rose. The most-traded contract I2509 eventually closed at 790.5, with a daily increase of 0.76%. Traders were enthusiastic about selling, while steel mills adopted a wait-and-see attitude, with weak purchase willingness.

[Domestic iron ore market brief: Prices of iron ore concentrates in Tangshan region may have some upside potential] Prices of iron ore concentrates in Tangshan region were relatively stable at the beginning of the week, with the delivery-to-factory price (dry basis, tax included) for 66% grade ore ranging from 920 to 930 yuan/mt. At the beginning of the week, producers mostly adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards steel companies' orders. However, as the weather improved, the supply of iron ore concentrates from Chengde region to Tangshan gradually resumed, but the available resources remained tight, and the overall market resources were still in short supply.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Stainless Steel Mill's Price Increase Boosts Market Confidence, Spot Quotations Strengthen with Increased Inquiries] SMM reported on August 4 that the overall SS futures market showed a strengthening and upward trend. Despite the weak and stable performance of the SS futures market from the night session on Friday to the opening of the morning session, it subsequently surged rapidly, reaching 12,900 yuan/mt again. In the spot market, most maintained stable pricing for shipments in the morning, followed by a large stainless steel mill in south China raising the guidance price for 304 stainless steel by 100 yuan/mt. Influenced by this, market sentiment strengthened significantly, with an increase in the number of inquiries and a subsequent rise in spot quotations. However, wait-and-see sentiment still persisted in the market, and actual transactions did not become significantly more active. In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2509 strengthened and rose. At 10:30 a.m., SS2509 was quoted at 12,850 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums and discounts for 304/2B stainless steel in the Wuxi area ranged from 220 to 420 yuan/mt. In terms of spot, the cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 7,950 yuan/mt; the cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coils had an average price of 13,000 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,000 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 24,525 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 24,525 yuan/mt in Foshan; the hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were both quoted at 24,100 yuan/mt in the two regions; the cold-rolled 430/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both priced at 7,150 yuan/mt. Recently, the stimulus effect of macro policy news has weakened somewhat, and the SS futures market has repeatedly attempted to break through the 13,000 yuan/mt mark...