Last week, the ferrous metals series started strong but weakened later. On the news front, data showed that GDP grew by 5% YoY in H1; the Third Plenary Session was held on Wednesday, and market expectations for economic stimulus in Q3 and Q4 strengthened. Overseas, traders for the first time priced in a 100% chance of a US Fed rate cut in September. In the spot market, the alternation of new and old national standards disturbed market sentiment, and the impact of the off-season continued. With weaker steel prices last week, end-users were cautious in their purchases.
In the short term, according to SMM, as pig iron output is expected to narrowly fluctuate in the next 2-3 weeks, furnace charge prices have limited downside room. For steel, as the inventory of the five major types continued to fall, the overall supply-demand mismatch was minimal. It is expected that short-term steel prices will continue to fluctuate. Attention should be paid to the impact of macro and external news.
