Iron ore futures moved downwards a er a higher opening today, with the most-traded contract I2601 closing at 800 yuan, down 0.12% from the previous trading day. Traders showed moderate willingness to sell; steel mills adopted a cau ous wait-and-see approach and purchased as needed. Market trading ac vity was moderate. In Shandong, mainstream transac on prices for old-grade PB fines were 790-795 yuan/mt, down 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday; new-grade PB fines traded near 780 yuan/mt. In Tangshan, transac on prices for PB fines were 795-800 yuan/mt, down 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday. The US Fed cut interest rates by 25 bps as expected, leading to a short-term exhaus on of macro tailwinds and a marginal weakening in market senment, which exerted some pressure on futures. However, from an industrial fundamental perspec ve, apparent demand for the five major steel products con nued to recover slightly this week. Although total inventory increased slightly WoW, rebar inventory has already reached an inflec on point and begun destocking. The recovery in finished steel demand is providing a floor support for iron ore prices, and futures have shown strong resistance to declines. Considering that some steel mills s ll have restocking needs ahead of the holiday, overall raw material consump on is expected to grow, and ore prices are likely to stabilize and rebound in the near term.

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Source: Metals Market Index (MMI)