On Tuesday, silicon iron futures prices rose sharply, with the main contract closing at 6,110 yuan/ton, up 3.52% from the previous day, and the main contract open interest increasing by 769 lots to 197,100 lots. The consolidated price of 72-grade silicon iron in various regions was 5,450-5,550 yuan/ton, with Inner Mongolia and Ningxia regions increasing by 50 yuan/ton from the previous day. Yesterday, the overall performance of the black metal sector was significantly divergent, with glass and coking coal leading the decline, while silicon iron rose in the afternoon session and ultimately reclaimed the 6,000 yuan per tonne psychological level. Recent changes in market sentiment still warrant attention, as it is evident that the price movements of most black metal sector commodities exhibit similar patterns at certain points during the trading day. From a fundamental perspective, silicon iron production profits improved month-on-month in July, with both production volume and operating rates in Inner Mongolia increasing compared to the previous month. Similar trends are observed on the demand side, with downstream production profits recovering, output increasing, and driving higher silicon iron consumption. Weekly data shows that both silicon iron weekly output and steel mill demand for the week saw slight month-on-month increases, with marginal improvements but no significant contradictions overall. Overall, there are several major events at the end of the month that require close monitoring. From a fundamental perspective, neither bullish nor bearish factors have strong drivers to break the deadlock, and it is expected that silicon iron prices will primarily experience wide swings in the short term.
