The most-traded iron ore futures contract stabilized and strengthened today, holding up well throughout the session. The most-traded contract I2601 closed at 777.5 yuan/mt, up 0.65% from the previous trading day.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Futures Stop Falling and Rebound, but Stainless Steel Spot Prices Fail to Follow Due to Weak Confidence] SMM November 6 - SS futures showed signs of stopping falling and rebounding. In the morning, SS futures remained in the doldrums, but in the afternoon, SHFE nickel rose sharply driven by news, and SS followed suit, breaking the previous weak trend and approaching 12,600 yuan/mt near the close. In the spot market, in the morning, affected by the pullback in the list prices of a major stainless steel plant in South China yesterday, traders' offers further declined, and market sentiment remained pessimistic. Even price cuts failed to improve transactions. In the afternoon, influenced by the strengthening of futures, offers rebounded, and inquiry activity increased, but actual transaction volume remained low. This week, social inventory increased slightly, down 0.14% WoW to 945,500 mt. The most-traded SS2512 futures contract stopped falling and rebounded. At 10:30 a.m., SS2512 was quoted at 12,550 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 320-620 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,050 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled mill edge 304/2B coil was 12,850 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; the price of cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was 25,150 yuan/mt, and 25,200 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price of hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was 24,550 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 43...

In Q3, domestic economic operations were generally stable, with accelerated industrial upgrading and development of new quality productive forces. New momentum enhanced economic resilience and vitality, leading to steady growth in steel demand from sectors like high-end manufacturing and new energy. The spread between purchase and selling prices saw a slight recovery QoQ. During the reporting period, the domestic steel price index rose 1.8% QoQ from Q2; iron ore prices increased slightly, with the Platts 62% iron ore index up 4.4% QoQ from Q2. Coking coal prices rose sharply, with the Lvliang coking coal price in Shanxi increasing 17.7% QoQ from Q2. However, it is noteworthy that the steel industry remains in a pattern of strong supply and weak demand, with some enterprises still facing operational pressures such as costs being more likely to rise than fall, and transformation and upgrading.

Today, the Dalian iron ore futures market moved steadily and fluctuated narrowly. The main contract I2601 finally closed at

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Futures Remained Weak, Steel Mills Lowered Prices and Spot Stainless Steel Followed Suit] SMM, November 5: SS futures showed a downward trend. Today, ferrous metals futures weakened further, and SS futures followed suit, trading below 12,600 yuan/mt throughout the day, with intraday lows approaching 12,500 yuan/mt again. In the spot market, as SS futures continued to decline, pessimistic sentiment in the stainless steel market intensified, and transactions were mainly driven by rigid demand. In the afternoon, a stainless steel mill in South China released its latest prices, which generally fell by 200 yuan compared to the previous round. Currently, stainless steel prices are at relatively low levels, and steel mills are facing inverted cost prices, but this has still failed to reverse the current pessimistic sentiment in the market, and transactions remained weak. The most-traded SS2512 futures contract declined. At 10:30 a.m., SS2512 was quoted at 12,560 yuan/mt, down 65 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 360-660 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi was 8,050 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coils was 12,900 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,900 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price of cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi was 25,150 yuan/mt, while in Foshan it was 25,200 yuan/mt; the price of hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi was 24,550 yuan/mt; the price of cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan was 760...

[Domestic Iron Ore Review: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Tangshan May Remain in the Doldrums] Iron ore concentrate prices in Tangshan edged lower this week, with local supply from mines and beneficiation plants remaining relatively tight. The operating rate at mines and beneficiation plants stayed at a low level, and overall willingness to hold prices firm remained relatively strong. Market transactions were generally sluggish. On the steel mill side, affected by the local environmental protection-driven production restriction policy,

Chinese steel futures rose first and then fell last week, and prices continued to pull back after this week's opening. Current normal HRC export offers are at $460-465/mt, with buyer bids around $445-450/mt. Overseas clients recently held an overall bearish view on the steel market, leading to moderate transaction performance through price reductions. As futures pulled back, market inquiries increased. In the Thai market this week, apart from HRC prices being lowered, most other mainstream imported resources held steady. Traders mainly adopted a wait-and-see approach, awaiting the announcement of ex-factory price policies from mainstream steel mills. It is noteworthy that recent frequent overseas anti-dumping and anti-circumvention investigations mostly involve cold-rolled products and HRC. According to an SMM survey, Thailand has now initiated an anti-circumvention investigation on wide coil. Following Vietnam's wide coil anti-circumvention case, this marks a further strengthening of trade barriers in the Southeast Asian market, and China's subsequent HRC exports are expected to face increased difficulty.

This time, Thailand initiated an anti-circumvention investigation against the involved products from China. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total volume of China's involved products exported to Thailand in the first nine months of 2025 was 153,400 mt, accounting for 3.92% of China's total exports of the involved products, indicating a relatively limited overall impact. In an extreme scenario, this could lead to a decrease of 153,400 mt in China's total exports in 2026. Data show that the top five countries for China's exports of the involved products in 2025 were the Philippines (25.35%), Indonesia (7.34%), Brazil (5.59%), Vietnam (5.21%), and Thailand (3.92%). In 2020, the top five countries were Thailand (18.89%), South Korea (7.34%), the Philippines (5.59%), Vietnam (5.21%), and Myanmar (3.92%). It is evident that while Thailand has increased anti-dumping and anti-circumvention investigations against China's involved products, domestic export traders are actively seeking new export destinations to hedge against the pressure. However, currently, China's exports of the involved products to the Philippines account for 25.35%, which is excessively high and requires vigilance against potential investigations by the Philippines on China's involved products

Today, the price of iron ore futures continued to fluctuate weakly. The main contract I2601 finally closed at 775.5 yuan, down 1.71% from the previous working day. The mainstream spot price at ports fell by 2-8 yuan/ton from the previous working day. The transaction price of PB powder in Shandong area was 780-785 yuan/ton