WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's iron ore prices continue falling, coke prices increase

Chinese prices for imported iron ore dropped slightly in both spot and futures markets during January 26-30, as steelmakers showed modest interest in restocking the feed material while iron ore inventories at both mills and ports climbed higher. In contrast, spot and futures prices of metallurgical coke both increased during the same period, with steelmakers finally accepting the first round of coke price hikes initiated by coke producers.

The hot metal production of integrated steelmakers remained stable last week. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces among the 247 integrated steelmakers nationwide under Mysteel's regular tracking averaged 85.47% during January 23-29, edging down by 0.04 percentage point on week. Iron ore: By January 30, Mysteel PORTDEX 62% Australian Fines