[SMM Hot Topic Analysis] Supply Pressure Intensifies: Can May Bring a Market Turning Point?

Published: May 8, 2026 16:07

Entering May, macro impacts gradually weakened, and price logic reverted to fundamentals. However, hot metal production has already peaked. Meanwhile, supply pressure is gradually increasing and supply-demand imbalances are intensifying, suppressing iron ore prices. From industrial data, current demand in and outside China remains robust, steel inventory destocking is progressing well, and overall supply-demand imbalances are not prominent. Comprehensively, iron ore prices are expected to fluctuate at highs in May, with limited downside room.

However, entering June, off-season effects will become prominent and supply-demand imbalances will intensify; at that time, macro will enter a vacuum period, and ore prices are expected to come under pressure and weaken.

 

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Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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[SMM Hot Topic Analysis] Supply Pressure Intensifies: Can May Bring a Market Turning Point? - Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)