WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's major steelmaking raw mat prices weaken further

Imported iron ore prices in China continued to decline in both spot and futures markets during July 27-31, as bearish sentiment prevailed while underlying fundamentals softened. Meanwhile, spot and futures prices of metallurgical coke in the domestic market also recorded drops over the same period, following another coke price reduction.

Operations among Chinese blast-furnace (BF) steelmakers slipped further during the past week, mainly reflecting the impacts of production restrictions imposed in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province. During July 24-30, the average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking fell for the fourth straight week