SMM

SHANGHAI, May 6 (SMM) - The iron ore market in Tangshan area was relatively quiet. After the Labour Day holiday, iron ore futures prices have performed poorly, and steel prices have shown a downward trend. It is expected that local leading steel companies will continue to push down purchase prices. As the local area has been restricting the supply of explosives, operating rates of dressing plants were less than 10%. Due to the persistently sluggish market, some dressing plants have gradually shut down. Mines took a wait-and-see stance and were reluctant to sell at lower prices, somehow supporting market prices. To sum up, as steel prices continued to fall, steel mills’ profits shrank, and the negative impact has begun to be transmitted to iron ore. Local steel mills are expected to carry out maintenance or slow down production in the future, which could weigh on iron ore prices.