WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's iron ore prices weaken, but coke prices rise

Chinese prices for imported iron ore recorded drops in both spot and futures markets during May 25-29, with rising shipments stoking concerns about growing supply. Meanwhile, prices for metallurgical coke increased in the two markets over the same period. Notably, domestic coke firms attempted to raise their coke selling prices again last Friday after a new round of price hikes had just taken effect earlier in the week.

Production among Chinese blast furnace (BF) steelmakers hovered steady last week. During May 22-28, the capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking averaged 90.35%, inching up by 0.07 percentage point on week. Iron ore: By May 29, Mysteel PORTDEX 62% Australian Fines in Qingdao fell