SHANGHAI, Sep 22 (SMM) – The stainless steel contract opened at 21,820 yuan/mt today. Due to the intensifying dual control on energy consumption after the holiday, the contract price hit a recent new high despite the flat transaction in the spot market, and closed at the highest price in the intraday trading at 21,965 yuan/mt.

The SS contract settled 780 yuan/mt or 3.68% higher from the previous trading day, and the open interest decreased 10,102 lots to 23,090 lots. The funds that entered the market were mainly short funds. The open interest of SS 2111 contract stood at 31,799 lots, and the most traded contract may be switched from the SS 2110 contract to the SS 2111 contract.

In the spot market, the quotations increased by about 600 yuan/mt last Saturday, and further rose by about 500 yuan/mt today. Downstream were reluctant to accept the high prices, and some traders may lower the selling prices. However, the downward room for the spot prices will be limited in the short term with the support of the dual control on energy consumption.