Today, DCE iron ore futures were in the doldrums, with the most-traded contract I2509 closing at 727, up 1.24% for the day. Traders sold goods in line with market conditions. As the weekend approached, steel mills' purchase willingness weakened. The market trading atmosphere was average. In the Shandong region, the mainstream transaction prices of PB fines were in the range of 755-758 yuan/mt, down 5-10 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices. In the Tangshan region, the transaction prices of PB fines were around 770-775 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices. As of May 23, the total inventory at 35 SMM ports was 137.73 million mt, a decrease of 1.67 million mt WoW. The daily average port pick-up volume of imported ore was 3.138 million mt, an increase of 43,000 mt WoW. Recently, the port cargo pick-up situation has improved, and pig iron production of steel mill blast furnaces remains at a high level, still providing certain support for the demand for iron ore concentrates. Next week, the demand for iron ore is expected to decline, and the support for ore prices will weaken. It is expected that iron ore futures will be in the doldrums next week.
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