[India Secures Larger Duty-Free UK Steel Export Quota]

The most-traded HRC contract continued yesterday's rise during the day, closing at 3,327, up 1.12%. In the spot market, cold and hot rolled prices rose 10-20 yuan/mt, with moderate trading. During the off-season, sustained price rises could hardly stimulate a continuous increase in demand, and speculative and spot-futures demand also slowed down. From a fundamental perspective, there were few new maintenance activities for HRC, supply pressure persisted, and as the off-season gradually deepened, end-use demand was unlikely to be released significantly. Phased market movements only led to resource circulation, and inventory continued to slowly accumulate in July. Overall, the current sentiment improved somewhat, but considering that finished steel remains in the off-season, the rise driven by short-term news disturbances might be difficult to sustain, and the pace may still fluctuate. Pay attention to market news developments.

Outokumpu has ordered Primetals Technologies to upgrade the ladle treatment facility at its Calvert stainless steel plant in Alabama with a 180-tonne twin ladle furnace, scheduled to start in March 2028. The project will improve temperature control, flexibility and productivity while reducing energy consumption and emissions.