The iron ore futures market remained in the doldrums today. The most-traded contract I2601 closed at 780.5, down 0.64% WoW. Some traders were already on holiday, showing a moderate willingness to sell, while steel mills mostly adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach, with some purchasing as needed.

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in West Liaoning Expected to Hold Steady] The domestic ore market in west Liaoning was sluggish, with buyers exhibiting strong risk aversion sentiment. A small number attempted to drive down prices with inquiries. The current ex-factory price for 66% grade iron ore concentrates on a wet basis, excluding tax, is 740-750 yuan/mt. However, most beneficiation plants, facing no funding pressure, refused to budge on prices and held back from selling. Steel mills are currently purchasing as needed.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Market Trading Halted Ahead of National Day Holiday, Stainless Steel Futures Pull Back While Spot Prices Hold Steady] SMM September 30 — SS futures extended their decline. Today, following the continued weakness in ferrous metals and SHFE nickel, SS followed suit, with prices approaching 12,700 yuan/mt during the session. In the spot market, as today marked the last trading day before the National Day holiday, most traders only handled previous orders. Shipments and deliveries were restricted during the holiday, and as most had completed pre-holiday stockpiling, trading was relatively sluggish. Additionally, the continued decline in futures weakened cost support, leading to widespread pessimism about October market expectations. For futures, the most-traded contract 2511 pulled back. At 10:30 a.m., SS2511 was quoted at 12,755 yuan/mt, down 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of 365-665 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,100 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coil, the average price was 13,100 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil, the price was 25,650 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, the price was 24,950 yuan/mt in both locations; for cold-rolled 430/2B coil, the price was 7,600 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. Despite the traditional peak consumption season of "September-October peak season," end-use demand recovery remained limited...

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Sluggish Stainless Steel Demand Before Holiday, Futures and Spot Prices Decline in Tandem] SMM September 29: SS futures showed a clear pullback trend. Today, metal futures generally declined, and SS followed suit, with the intraday low falling below 12,750 yuan/mt. In the spot market, driven by the decline in futures and recent softening in nickel-based raw material prices, stainless steel market confidence was insufficient. Additionally, as the National Day holiday approaches, most pre-holiday stockpiling has been largely completed, leading to strong wait-and-see sentiment and sluggish transactions. Some traders are currently mainly busy with shipments for previous orders. Futures side, the most-traded contract 2511 pulled back. At 10:30 am, SS2511 was quoted at 12,795 yuan/mt, down 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of 325-625 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil was 8,100 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled mill edge 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi was 13,100 yuan/mt, and in Foshan 13,100 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi, 25,650 yuan/mt, and in Foshan 25,650 yuan/mt; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, both locations reported 24,950 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 430/2B coil, both Wuxi and Foshan reported 7,600 yuan/mt. Despite the traditional September-October peak season, downstream end-use demand recovery has been relatively limited, and market purchasing sentiment remains subdued. Approaching October...

DCE iron ore futures moved in the doldrums today. The most-traded contract I2601 closed at 784, down 1.57% from the previous trading day. Traders showed low motivation to sell; steel mills had completed restocking and adopted a cautious wait-and-see stance,

[Domestic Iron Ore Review: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Shandong May Remain in the Doldrums with Fluctuations] This week, the price of 64-grade alkaline iron ore concentrates in Shandong on a dry basis, excluding taxes and before acceptance, rose by 2 yuan to 870 yuan. Steel mills adjusted their prices simultaneously. As some miners scheduled maintenance during the holiday, steel mills were relatively active in purchasing, engaging in pre-holiday stockpiling operations. Restocking by steel mills was primarily demand-driven, with inventory mostly maintained at around seven days. Transactions at small mills and among traders were relatively strong.

Simultaneously, anti-dumping investigations against billets are also increasing. For example, in June this year, Pakistan initiated a sunset review anti-dumping investigation on Chinese continuous casting billet products, and in September, Egypt initiated a safeguard investigation on imported steel billets. If the volume of domestic billets going overseas increases again, they may face more anti-dumping investigations, putting pressure on the sustainable development of billet exports

In August 2025, crude steel production for the 70 countries and regions reporting to the World Steel Association reached 145.3 million metric tons, up 0.3% YoY.