WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's steelmaking raw mat prices extend gains

Imported iron ore prices in China inched up across spot and futures markets during August 31-September 4, largely supported by mills' restocking demand and rising freight rates for Capesize vessels, even as supply conditions remained relatively loose. Over the same period, domestic metallurgical coke prices also strengthened further in both markets, driven by coke producers' persistent efforts to secure price hikes.

Last week, operations among Chinese blast-furnace (BF) steelmakers showed marginal recovery. During August 28-September 3, the average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel's tracking edged up by 0.08 percentage point on week to 88.92%. Iron ore: On September 4, Mysteel PORTDEX 62% Australian Fines was