News of environmental protection-driven production restrictions in the north continues to emerge, putting pressure on iron ore prices, which are in the doldrums [SMM Commentary]

Today, DCE iron ore futures continued to be in the doldrums, with the most-traded contract I2509 closing at 790, down 0.19% for the day. Traders sold goods according to market conditions. As the weekend approached, steel mills' purchase willingness declined somewhat. The market transaction atmosphere was average. In the Shandong region, the mainstream transaction prices of PB fines were around 770-772 yuan/mt, down 2-5 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices. In the Tangshan region, the transaction price of PB fines was around 785 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices. As of August 8, the total iron ore inventory at 35 ports nationwide, as tracked by SMM, was 129.27 million mt, a decrease of 1.21 million mt WoW. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore fell to 2.963 million mt, a decrease of 44,000 mt WoW. This week, steel mills' overall purchase willingness declined somewhat. Additionally, it was reported today that some steel mills in Tangshan received production restrictions, with sintering machines to be restricted by 40% from August 26 and blast furnace production restrictions to be determined based on actual conditions, which will suppress ore prices. It is expected that such news will become more frequent next week, becoming the main factor suppressing ore prices.