WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's iron ore extends decline, spot coke rises further

Chinese prices for imported iron ore continued falling across both spot and futures markets during June 15-18, undermined by diminishing freight-rate support amid falling oil prices and intensified headwinds from a firmer US dollar. In contrast, spot prices for domestic metallurgical coke increased again over the same period, following the landing of another coke price hike, though coke futures softened amid coal mine resumptions.

Production among Chinese blast-furnace (BF) steel mills continued to inch higher, with the average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking rising 0.52 percentage point from the previous week to 90.81% during June 12-18. Iron ore: By June 18, the last working day before China's