Today, DCE iron ore futures continued their strong upward trend, with the most-traded contract I2509 reaching a high of 777.5 and eventually closing at 773, marking a daily increase of 1.05%. Traders actively sold their goods. Steel mills purchased as needed, with some experiencing weaker sales of finished products and a corresponding decrease in purchase willingness. The market transaction atmosphere was average. The spread between futures and spot prices continued to narrow. In the Shandong region, the mainstream transaction price of PB fines was around 755 yuan/mt, up 1-5 yuan/mt from the previous day. In the Tangshan region, the transaction price of PB fines was around 770 yuan/mt, up 5 yuan/mt from the previous day.

According to the SMM survey, on July 19, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 87.41%, up 0.13 percentage points MoM. The daily average hot metal production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4166 million mt, up 4,800 mt MoM. Overall,

Download PDF

Source: Metals Market Index (MMI)