Iron ore futures continued to hold up well today, with the most-traded contract I2601 closing at 805 yuan, up 2.03% from the previous trading day. Traders showed moderate willingness to sell, while steel mills exhibited stronger wait-and-see sentiment and tepid purchase willingness. Market transactions remained sluggish. In Shandong, mainstream transaction prices for PB fines stood at 795-800 yuan/mt, up 10-15 yuan/mt from yesterday. In Tangshan, PB fines traded around 805-810 yuan/mt, also up 10-15 yuan/mt daily. According to SMM statistics, blast furnace maintenance impacted hot metal production by 1.1042 million mt this week (September 6-12), down 423,600 mt WoW. Hot metal production rebounded rapidly after environmental protection-driven production restrictions ended, providing strong support for iron ore prices. Today, the Guinean government required enterprises like Baowu to build local smelters, leading to downward revisions in market expectations for Simandou ore supply to China—a key driver of the price increase. Short-term, fundamentals and market senƟment are aligned, with ore prices expected to maintain their firm trend, though gains may gradually narrow.

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Source: Metals Market Index (MMI)