[SMM Weekly Iron Ore Report] Looking ahead to next week, it is expected that global iron ore shipments will remain at seasonal lows, and port arrivals will also fluctuate within a narrow range. On the demand side, although there are not many newly-added blast furnace maintenance plans, some blast furnaces that were scheduled to resume production may be delayed. It is expected that crude steel production will not rebound significantly. Although steel demand may improve marginally as the peak season approaches, news of production capacity replacement suspension will still disrupt market sentiment. Overall, iron ore prices are expected to continue to come under pressure next week, maintaining a fluctuating trend...

[Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Suspends Steel Production Capacity Replacement Work] The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice on suspending the work of steel production capacity replacement. All regions are required to suspend the publicity and announcement of new steel production capacity replacement plans from August 23, 2024. Any regions that continue to publish or announce steel production capacity replacement plans in violation of this notice will be deemed as illegally increasing steel production capacity and will be reported as negative examples.

[SMM Brief Analysis: How Have Blast Furnace Capacities Changed During the Implementation of the Measures for the Replacement of Steel Industry Production Capacity?] On August 20, 2024, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on suspending the replacement of steel production capacity. Starting from August 23, 2024, all regions will suspend the publicity and announcement of new steel production capacity replacement plans. SMM has summarized the blast furnace capacity replacement situation since 2017...

At the 2023 (8th) SMM Electrical Materials Industry Annual Conference and Conductor Wire Industry Exhibition, the SMM Industry Research Department GM provided an outlook for the copper and aluminum market in 2024.