[SMM Analysis] Rigid Demand Remained Steady During the Peak March Season, Stainless Steel Inventory Edged Up Slightly While Destocking Pressure Persisted

SMM News, March 26: This week, total inventory in the two major stainless steel markets of Wuxi and Foshan posted a slight buildup, rising from 979,300 mt on March 19, 2026 to 982,000 mt on March 26, 2026, up 0.28% WoW.

This week, stainless steel social inventory edged up, with inventories in the two core markets of Wuxi and Foshan rising slightly WoW and returning to a mild inventory buildup trend. Although the market was in the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April,” stainless steel futures strengthened during the week and steel mills simultaneously raised guidance prices, gradually easing earlier bearish sentiment. Downstream just-in-time procurement remained stable, but overall transactions stayed flat, and downstream end-users still showed no willingness to build inventories. Supply side, planned production at stainless steel mills rose sharply in March, keeping overall market supply at a high level. In addition, due to insufficient shipments from some steel mills at the beginning of the month, arrivals of market cargoes increased as month-end approached, further pushing inventories slightly higher. Meanwhile, ongoing geopolitical conflicts continued to disrupt the market, and frequent news on Indonesian policy adjustments added to strong overall industry uncertainty, making it difficult for downstream end-users to shift their cautious stance, while stockpiling sentiment remained weak. Overall, this week’s slight inventory increase was mainly driven by high supply and concentrated arrivals of cargoes at month-end. At present, there has been no clear change in the high-output production schedule pace at steel mills, and pressure on market inventory digestion remained relatively heavy. Although just-in-time procurement supported stable market operations, downstream stocking enthusiasm was insufficient. In the short term, inventories were unlikely to see significant destocking, and the key to subsequent inventory trends will still depend on closely tracking the release of real downstream demand, as well as further developments in the geopolitical situation and raw material-side policy news.