Today, iron ore futures held up well, with the most-traded contract I2601 closing at 807.5, up 0.81% WoW. Traders showed a strong willingness to sell, while steel mills remained cautious and adopted a wait-and-see approach, with purchase willingness declining from yesterday. Market transaction sentiment was moderate. In Shandong, mainstream transaction prices for old PB fines were 795-800 yuan/mt, up 5-10 yuan/mt from yesterday; new PB fines traded around 788 yuan/mt. In Tangshan, transaction prices for PB fines were 805-810 yuan/mt, up 5-10 yuan/mt from yesterday. As of September 19, SMM statistics showed that iron ore inventory across 35 ports totaled 129.91 million mt, down 500,000 mt WoW. Meanwhile, daily average port pick-up volume for imported ore rose 63,000 mt WoW to 3.113 million mt. Recently, steel mills have been actively stockpiling ahead of the holiday, boosting port pick-up volume, a trend expected to continue next week, further supporting ore prices. Additionally, the market responded positively to tonight's China-US talks, which should also provide some support to futures. Ore prices are expected to maintain their strength next week, though upside room may be limited by environmental protection-driven production restrictions and policies such as "anti-involution," with bullish and bearish factors intertwined.
