DCE iron ore futures market continued dropping tendency and I2201 recorded new low since from last May to 682.5yuan/mt. The physical port stock prices plummeted further and PBF in Shandong market was closed at 880yuan/mt, with price drop of 20- 30yuan/mt. In Tangshan market, PBF was closed at 940-950yuan/mt, with price decline of 20yuan/mt. Traders showed increasing intentions to conclude trades while steel mills performed to be insipid in purchasing. SMM’s data showed that, the operating rates of blast furnaces continued declining by 0.91% weekly to 80.25%, which was mainly caused by the increasing maintenance of blast furnaces in East China. It is predicted the operating rates of blast furnaces will remain low levels along with the stricter production cuts in Jiangsu, Yunnan and other provinces. Iron ore demands in the short term may have little chances to pick up.

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Source: Metals Market Index (MMi)