[China Iron Ore Brief] Iron ore concentrates prices in the Tangshan area were relatively stable, with the current ex-factory prices for 66-grade iron ore concentrates on a dry basis, tax-included, at 975-980 yuan/mt. A coal mine accident occurred in Shanxi last weekend, but its impact on mines and beneficiation plants in Hebei was limited. Mines and beneficiation plants estimated that safety inspection efforts may intensify in the near term. The overall operating rate of mines and beneficiation plants was currently low, and iron ore concentrates resources were relatively tight overall. It was estimated that the supply shortage may worsen in the later period.

HRC futures the most-traded contract closed at 3,366, down 1.78%. Spot market, hot-rolled coil prices in most major cities fell 30-50 yuan/mt, cold galvanized prices dropped 10 yuan/mt, and overall transactions were weak. Supply side, the impact from maintenance on hot-rolled production this week was 185,500 mt, up 48,000 mt WoW, indicating reduced HRC supply this week based on maintenance schedules. Demand side, yesterday coking coal and coke futures strengthened, driving HRC futures and spot prices higher. Today, futures market sentiment cooled, and HRC futures weakened significantly, dragging spot prices down again. Prices fluctuated sharply over the past two days, and with mediocre off-season demand, end-user procurement remained cautious, with overall transactions weak today. Overall, off-season sentiment was strong, demand remained generally weak, and upward momentum was insufficient. However, considering the rebound in hot metal production, strong sentiment for coking coal and coke price increases, cost side still had support, and steel mills had a strong willingness to hold prices firm, prices still had downside support. Going forward, the supply-demand imbalance was not prominent. As news related to the mine accident gradually subsided, market prices were likely to return to fundamentals-driven logic, with prices expected to mainly move sideways in the short term.

[SMM Coking Coal and Coke Daily Brief] News: Mainstream steel mills in Hebei and Shandong accepted the fourth round of coke price increases, with wet quenching coke raised by 50 yuan/mt and coke dry quenching raised by 55 yuan/mt, effective from midnight on May 26, 2026. In terms of supply, the fourth round of coke price increases has been implemented, and most coke producers maintained moderate profits. However, coking coal prices have expectations of rising, which may squeeze coke producers' profits. Coke producers showed limited production enthusiasm, and coke supply remained stable for now. Demand side, finished steel futures pulled back notably, but steel mills' daily average hot metal production continued to fluctuate at highs, sustaining rigid demand for coke, and buyers still had willingness to restock. In summary, coke had strong cost support, and the fourth round of coke price increases has been fully implemented. In the short term, the coke market is expected to hold up well.

As of May 26, the operating rate of 50 major construction steel EAF steel mills nationwide was 39.9%, down 0.26% WoW; the capacity utilization rate was 41.97%, down 0.36% WoW; daily average production of construction steel was 93,500 mt, down 800 mt WoW.

On May 26, 2026, DCE iron ore futures trended weaker, with the most-traded contract I2609 closing at 781 yuan/mt, down 1.95% from the previous trading session. Port spot prices fell 5-10 yuan/mt from the previous day. Traders showed moderate enthusiasm in offering prices; steel mill purchases were mostly for immediate needs; overall spot market transactions remained limited as of now. According to SMM statistics, the impact from blast furnace maintenance on hot metal production was 1.3075 million mt this week, down 68,400 mt WoW; next week, the impact from maintenance is expected to further decline to 1.2049 million mt, down another 102,600 mt WoW. The narrowing of maintenance impact for two consecutive weeks indicates that hot metal production is gradually rebounding, with blast furnace consumption and procurement of iron ore increasing in tandem, pointing to a mild uptick in iron ore demand. With marginal improvement in demand, short-term ore price support remains firm, and prices are expected to fluctuate upward.

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Prices Moved Sideways as Tug-of-War Between Sellers and Buyers Continued] May 26, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore market fluctuated slightly...

Indonesian authorities suspended over 50 mining firms during work plan inspections, while power issues are forcing Weda Bay industrial park to cut NPI output in June, keeping raw material costs elevated and global nickel prices high. As a result, Chinese Taiwan's upstream stainless steel mills are expected to announce flat-to-higher prices for June, following five consecutive months of increases. While semiconductor expansion and green energy infrastructure support local demand, sustained price hikes risk triggering buyer resistance among exporters. Market participants anticipate mills will balance high production costs against domestic market tolerance, pointing to a steady-to-slightly-higher pricing outcome.

[SMM Daily Comment: Bullish and Bearish Factors Intertwined, NPI Market Continued to Move Sideways] May 26, the SMM upstream sentiment index for high-grade NPI was 3.09, down 0.03 MoM, while the downstream sentiment index for high-grade NPI was 2, flat MoM.

During the survey period (May 19–May 25), in the Central China region, the rebar operating rate rose while the capacity utilization rate declined, and both the wire rod operating rate and capacity utilization rate decreased.

[SMM Analysis] Weak Downstream Consumption Increases Pressure on Ex-China Steel Trading Price spread model, the price inversion of Chinese steel relative to overseas markets (India, Japan, Turkey, Black Sea) deepened further in late May. In particular, Chinese resources were cheaper compared to Indonesia, and the price spread was "narrowing at an accelerating pace." For pure ex-China inter-regional price spreads, India's decline was more pronounced compared to other regions, as weak domestic demand drove aggressive low-price bidding. Segment-wise, steel procurement sentiment in Southeast Asia became more cautious last week, with coil prices weakening. In Vietnam, coated steel and steel pipe prices began to slow down after a prolonged rally, and buyers became increasingly cautious about restocking ahead of the rainy season. Meanwhile, due to weak demand and growing pressure from low-priced imports, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan's China Steel Corporation, also cut its HRC quotations by $5-10/mt to $598-603/mt CIF Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese downstream steel mills continued to raise or maintain prices due to earlier increases in raw material costs and tight spot supply, some producers had begun to limit orders or delay quotations while waiting for a clearer market direction. Notably, Indonesian HRC quotations remained competitive with relatively active exports, with FOB prices at around $565/mt. According to SMM survey, recent transaction prices to Vietnam were around $585/mt CFR. Turkey market: As the Middle East was set to enter a long holiday mid-week, most market participants had already exited early. According to SMM survey, no clear large-volume transactions were seen in the Turkish steel scrap market last week. Meanwhile, as domestic rebar demand remained sluggish, steel mills pushed their target purchase prices for European HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap below $400/mt CFR to pass on the pressure. The recent euro depreciation and slight correction in ocean freight rates opened up some discount room for European sellers to a certain extent, but judging from actual market transactions, sellers still found it difficult to accept such low prices. At the same time, US exporters continued to hold prices firm at $420/mt CFR. In addition, mainstream quotations for Turkish domestic HRC remained at $660-675/mt EXW. Due to exchange rate fluctuations and high production costs, steel mills were striving to hold prices firm, but downstream buyers remained cautious in purchasing, with expected psychological prices 15-20 $/mt lower. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. 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