Morning Reading: Iron ore prices rise above $105, first round of coke price reductions implemented

　　◎On September 8, Mysteel's forward spot index for 62% Australian iron ore fines was 105.25, up 0.9, with a monthly average of 103.37; the forward spot index for 65% Brazilian iron ore fines was 122.65, up 0.4, with a monthly average of 121.3. (Unit: USD/dry ton)

　　◎On September 8, mainstream steel mills in Hebei and Shandong markets lowered the purchase price of coke by 50 yuan/ton for wet quenching and 55 yuan/ton for dry quenching.

　　◎According to the General Administration of Customs, China's steel exports in August were 9.51 million tons, a decrease of 326,000 tons from the previous month, down 3.3% month-on-month; cumulative steel exports from January to August reached 77.49 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 10%. The import and export situation of other major industrial products is as follows:

　　◎From September 1 to September 7, the total global iron ore shipments were 27.562 million tons, a decrease of 8.006 million tons month-on-month. Shipments of Australian and Brazilian iron ore totaled 23.296 million tons, down 5.725 million tons month-on-month.

　　◎The draft revision of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law was submitted for the first review at the 17th meeting of the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee. The draft deeply studies and proposes solutions to issues such as the difficulty and long cycle of initiating bankruptcy procedures, the absence of some important systems, and imperfect supporting mechanisms, which are more concentrated in practice.

　　◎The National Development and Reform Commission and two other departments issued a document to promote the high-quality development of "Artificial Intelligence +" energy. The goal is that by 2027, an initial innovation system integrating energy and artificial intelligence will be established, the foundation for coordinated development of computing power and electricity will be continuously strengthened, significant breakthroughs in AI-empowered core energy technologies will be achieved, and applications will be more widespread and in-depth.

　　◎On September 8, Yan Dong, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Commerce, said in Beijing that China will maintain close communication with ASEAN, actively promote the domestic signing and approval procedures, and push for the formal signing of the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Protocol by the end of the year.

　　◎According to customs statistics, in August, China's total import and export value of goods was 3.87 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Among them, exports were 2.3 trillion yuan, up 4.8%; imports were 1.57 trillion yuan, up 1.7%, with exports and imports achieving double growth for three consecutive months. In the first eight months of this year, China's total import and export value of goods reached 29.57 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%.

　　◎The National Health Commission announced that starting from September 8, the application for childcare subsidies is officially fully open.

　　◎The government led by French Prime Minister Borne failed to pass a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, and Borne will submit the government's resignation to President Macron.

　　◎On September 8, the total iron ore transactions at major national ports were 1.14 million tons, down 22.3% month-on-month; 237 mainstream traders transacted 112,700 tons of construction steel, down 0.5% month-on-month.

　　◎From September 1 to September 7, the total iron ore arrivals at 47 Chinese ports were 25.729 million tons, down 721,000 tons month-on-month; at 45 Chinese ports, total iron ore arrivals were 24.48 million tons, down 780,000 tons month-on-month.

　　◎On September 8, the average cost for 76 independent electric arc furnace construction steel mills was 3,337 yuan/ton, an increase of 5 yuan/ton day-on-day, with an average loss of 142 yuan/ton in profit, and a loss of 45 yuan/ton during off-peak electricity periods.

　　◎On September 8, the State Administration for Market Regulation released the list of cases of unconditional approval for operator concentration from August 25 to August 31, 2025. Among them, Tianjin Youfa Steel Pipe Group's acquisition of Jilin Huaming Pipe Industry's equity and control of Heilongjiang Huaming Pipe Industry through contracts was unconditionally approved.

　　◎On September 8, South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance issued Announcement No. 2025-181, imposing a four-month temporary anti-dumping duty on carbon steel and alloy steel hot-rolled coils originating from China and Japan.

　　◎The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers is preparing to establish a new energy vehicle battery branch and will hold the founding meeting at an appropriate time.

　　◎According to data from the Passenger Car Association, retail sales of new energy vehicles in August reached 1.101 million units, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Exports of new energy passenger vehicles in August were 204,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 102.7%, but a month-on-month decrease of 6.5%.

　　◎On September 8, Do-Fluoride Chemicals released an investor relations activity record showing that the company's battery business covers power, portable energy storage, and two/three-wheeler batteries. In the power sector, orders have surged since September, with production scheduled through December, showing rapid growth momentum.

　　◎On September 5, CATL's sodium-ion battery passed the GB38031-2025 "Safety Requirements for Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles" certification, becoming the world's first sodium-ion battery to pass the new national standard certification.

　　◎According to the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, the operating rate of major construction machinery products in China in August was 55.1%, down 6.83 percentage points year-on-year and down 1.14 percentage points month-on-month. Among them, the operating rate of excavators in the month was 54.8%.