MMI Daily Iron Ore Index Report May 6 2026 in Chinese iron ore and steelmaking prices 06/05/2026 Iron ore prices strengthened significantly in today’s trading, with the benchmark I2609 futures contract closing at 816 RMB/ton, up 2.84% from the previous trading session. Spot port prices rose by 10–18 RMB/ton compared to the prior day. Traders showed increased quoting activity, while steel mills mainly purchased for essential needs with limited inquiries; overall spot market transactions remained subdued. According to the latest SMM survey data, average daily pig iron production edged down by 9,800 tons to 2.4307 million tons, while the blast furnace utilization rate fell 0.19 percentage points to 89.61%. This indicates that, despite a slight dip, the rigid demand for iron ore remains at a high level. Looking ahead, as previously constrained port inventories have been released and absorbed well by the market, destocking of iron ore continues to accelerate, easing upside resistance and lending strong upward momentum to prices. However, with raw material costs rising steadily and profit margins under sustained pressure, steel mills may increase the risk of major maintenance shutdowns in the future. Therefore, iron ore prices are expected to be range-bound with a strong bias in the short term, while medium- to long-term trends will depend on steel mills’ ability to sustain demand. Download PDF Source: Metals Market Index (MMI) 2026-05-06 hellenicshippingnews... tweet Share