[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrates Prices in East Liaoning May Fluctuate at Highs] Today, the domestic ore market in East Liaoning remained mostly stable, with slight price increases in some areas. Local mine operations continued at low levels, compounded by consecutive rainy days over the past two days, further tightening ore supply. Consequently, beneficiation plants strengthened their high-price stance. With low inventory and high purchase costs, traders temporarily refrained from offering quantities.

Today, the most-traded iron ore futures contract I2601 continued to hold up well, closing at 787.5 yuan/mt, up 0.77% from yesterday. Traders' willingness to sell remained moderate, while steel mills' wait-and-see sentiment intensified, leading to a decline in the transaction sentiment index.

【SMM Survey on Billet-Using Mills' Operating Rates】 According to the SMM survey, as of August 29, the operating rate of steel mills using externally purchased billets primarily producing construction steel stood at 23.71%, up 6.85 percentage points MoM from July-end and up 1.46 percentage points YoY.

[SMM Daily Stainless Steel Review: End-Use Demand Peak Season Yet to Arrive, Stainless Steel Prices Struggle to Rise] SMM August 29 - SS futures initially fell then rose, pulling back overall. Before noon, SS futures fluctuated downward, breaking below 12,800 yuan/mt, then edged up slightly in the afternoon but still closed above 12,800 yuan/mt. Spot market-wise, SS futures lacked upward momentum, yet with the approaching September-October peak season, market sentiment remained basically stable. No significant price adjustments were observed intraday, with overall offers holding steady from the previous afternoon. Transactions mainly involved just-in-time procurement, while downstream wait-and-see sentiment persisted. Social inventory further declined this week, down 0.49% WoW to 928,800 mt. Futures-wise, the most-traded 2510 contract fluctuated. At 10:30 am, SS2510 traded at 12,790 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the prior session. In Wuxi, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B ranged between 380-580 yuan/mt. Spot market prices: Wuxi 201/2B cold-rolled coils averaged 8,050 yuan/mt; 304/2B cold-rolled coils (mill edge) averaged 13,100 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; 316L/2B cold-rolled coils were at 25,675 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan; 316L/NO.1 hot-rolled coils were quoted at 25,100 yuan/mt in both regions; 430/2B cold-rolled coils stood at 7,450 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan. This week, SS futures initially rose driven by macro tailwinds...

According to the SMM survey, on August 27, the blast furnace operating rate of the 242 surveyed steel mills stood at 86.14%, down 0.13 percentage points WoW.