Dalian iron ore futures surged significantly during the afternoon session, with the most-active I2605 contract settling at 801 RMB/mt, a 0.69% increase over the previous trading day. In the spot market, traders showed a reasonable willingness to sell, while steel mills maintained a “hand-to-mouth” procurement strategy with average inquiry levels, resulting in a moderate overall trading atmosphere; specifically, PB fines traded at 805–808 RMB/mt in the Shandong region (up 0–3 RMB/mt) and 820–826 RMB/mt in the Hebei region (up 1–3 RMB/mt). According to SMM data, the volume of production impacted by blast furnace maintenance this week is 1.8371 million tonnes, a week-on-week decrease of 58,300 tonnes, suggesting a slight recovery in hot metal output which, combined with growing pre-holiday restocking expectations, continues to support a firm, range-bound trend for iron ore prices. Given the current positive market sentiment and improving fundamentals, iron ore prices are expected to sustain this strength in the short term.

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Source: Metals Market Index (MMI)