The physical iron ore market did not see too much activity on Thursday March 22 despite more blast furnaces in north China being allowed to return to production.
Key driversSteelmakers in north China's steelmaking hub of Tangshan can now operate according to their off-peak production plans now that the winter heating season is over, subject to them meeting their prescribed emissions standards, according to a local government document circulated late on Wednesday.A cap remains for blast furnaces, but instead of the 50% imposed during winter, they can now operate at up to 85-90% of their utilization rates.Sources at two private steel mills in the city told Metal Bulletin that they have ramped up their blast furnace utilization rates, while a...