WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's iron ore prices rebound, spot coke stable

Chinese prices for imported iron ore rallied across both spot and futures markets during July 6-10, mainly supported by concerns over potential supply tightening following reported restrictions on certain Fortescue fines. Meanwhile, domestic metallurgical coke prices held largely stable in the spot market, as steelmakers stayed silent on the latest coke price hikes, though coke futures prices dropped.

The low season for steel consumption and increasing losses on steel sales led some Chinese steel mills to halt their blast furnaces (BFs) for maintenance during the past week. The average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking fell by 0.75 percentage point on