Today, DCE iron ore futures opened higher and then fluctuated downward, with the most-traded contract I2509 eventually closing at 708, up 0.35% for the day. Traders' enthusiasm for selling was moderate; steel mills adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude, with some purchasing as planned, resulting in a generally moderate market transaction atmosphere. In the Shandong region, the mainstream transaction prices of PB fines were around 760-765 yuan/mt, up 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices; in the Tangshan region, the transaction prices of PB fines were approximately 770-780 yuan/mt, also up 0-5 yuan/mt from yesterday's prices. This morning, at a State Council press conference, a series of macroeconomic stimulus policy packages were announced, significantly boosting market risk appetite. Meanwhile, the market once again received key signals indicating that the policy to reduce crude steel production was about to be implemented. Bulls and bears engaged in intense competition around policy expectations and fundamental logic, driving iron ore futures prices to fluctuate considerably. From a fundamental data perspective, according to the latest weekly survey by SMM, due to the postponement of maintenance plans at individual steel mills, the blast furnace operating rate among sampled steel mills reached 88.96%, up 0.07 percentage points WoW; the daily average pig iron production of sampled steel mills reached 2.4579 million mt, an increase of 4,400 mt WoW, continuing to maintain a high-level operation trend and providing bottom support for spot iron ore prices. 》Subscribe to view SMM's historical spot metal prices

[SMM Iron Ore Weekly Report] Looking ahead to next week, global shipments may fall back from highs. Additionally, due to the previous decline in shipments, port arrivals are also expected to decrease. On the demand side, according to SMM's blast furnace maintenance data, some blast furnaces have production resumption plans next week, and pig iron production is expected to stop declining and rebound. Furthermore, considering that steel mills will become more active in restocking after the New Year, spot iron ore prices are likely to receive some support. Iron ore prices are expected to continue fluctuating upward next week.

This week, the ferrous metals series continued to fluctuate rangebound, with raw material performance slightly stronger than steel. According to data released by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, the manufacturing PMI for December was 50.1%, down by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month...

[SMM Brief Analysis: Iron Ore Prices Strengthened First Then Weakened This Week, Expected to Fluctuate Upward Next Week] This week, iron ore futures prices strengthened first then weakened, while spot prices remained flat MoM. Domestic concentrate prices increased by 5-10 yuan/mt MoM. Looking ahead to next week, pig iron production rebounds, and pre-holiday restocking begins to increase. Iron ore prices are expected to show a fluctuating upward trend.

Iron ore market in Shandong swung in firmness.

SHANGHAI, Jul 6 (SMM) – In early June, China’s manufacturing PMI was better than expected, and worker strike in Brazil, along with the suspension of railway lines in South Africa, boosted market sentiment.

SHANGHAI, Jul 4 (SMM) – The recent high temperature and frequent rainfalls have caused a significant decline in demand for rebar.

SHANGHAI, May 23 (SMM) – The most-traded DCE 2309 iron ore contract moved in a wide range today, closing down 2.95% at 707 yuan/mt.

On March 23, the traded price of PB fines in Shandong moved between 875-890 yuan/mt.

JPMorgan expects the prices of iron ore to be $100/mt in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2024.