WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's import iron ore prices rise, spot coke slips further

Chinese prices for imported iron ore continued rising in both spot and futures markets during September 15-19, a reflection of stronger demand for the commodity as some steel mills started pre-holiday restocking to prepare for China's National Day holiday over October 1-8. Meanwhile, another price cut proposed by steelmakers led metallurgical coke spot prices to decline further, though main coke futures strengthened.

Blast furnace operations at integrated steel mills in China climbed slightly recently, with the average furnace capacity utilization rate among the 247 mills under Mysteel's regular survey growing by 0.17 percentage point on week to 90.35% during the week ended on September 18. Iron ore: By September 19, Mysteel PORTDEX 62%