MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (June 3)

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Firm Raw Material Costs Combined with Low Inventory, Stainless Steel Prices Fluctuate at Highs SMM, April 24: SS futures surged higher. Driven by news related to Indonesian nickel ore, SHFE nickel and SS futures rallied sharply. SS broke through its highs since 2023 again, briefly touching 15,230 yuan/mt. As of the morning close, the most-traded SS contract was quoted at 15,160 yuan/mt. Spot market side, stainless steel spot prices rose in tandem, driven by the strengthening of SS futures. Although prices rose in the short term, downstream end-users had not fully accepted them due to a wait-and-see sentiment. However, low-priced cargoes were already hard to find in the market. In addition, stainless steel social inventory continued to decline, and traders faced relatively low inventory pressure. The most-traded SS contract strengthened and probed higher. At 10:15 AM, SS2605 was quoted at 15,165 yuan/mt, up 320 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of -145-55 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi remained flat; for cold-rolled trimmed-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt, and the average price in Foshan rose by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi rose by 200 yuan/mt; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi rose by 100 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan remained stable. Currently, the stainless steel market saw spot prices hold up well, driven by the surge in SS futures. However, downstream end-users' wait-and-see sentiment persisted, with actual transaction volumes remaining generally weak and influenced by futures changes...

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Steel Tender Price Raises Boosted Confidence, but Trading Sentiment Remained Subdued] April 24, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore market saw no fluctuations for the time being...

According to SMM survey, on 23 April, the total inventory across the 10 ports in China tracked by SMM stood at 114.32 million tonnes, marking a week-on-week decrease of 1.16 million tonnes. During this period, coarse fines, lump ore, and pellets experienced minor destocking, while concentrates saw a slight accumulation.