[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Stainless steel futures stabilize, spot trades warm up.
[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Stainless Steel Futures Stabilize, Spot Trades Pick Up
SMM reported on June 12 that SS futures stopped falling and stabilized. News of easing US-Iran conflict emerged again, nonferrous metal futures generally staged a recovery, and SS strengthened in tandem. As of midday close, the most-traded SS contract was quoted at 14,715 yuan/mt. In the spot market, driven by the strengthening of SS futures, market activity improved. In the morning session, both inquiries and transactions recovered, and traders raised their offers.
The most-traded SS futures contract pulled back. At 10:15 a.m., SS2607 was reported at 14,705 yuan/mt, up 300 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi ranged from 365-915 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi remained flat; for cold-rolled 304/2B trimmed edge coil, the average price in Wuxi rose 50 yuan/mt, and in Foshan rose 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi fell 200 yuan/mt; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was flat; cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan held steady.
This week, stainless steel futures and spot prices both declined under pressure, as macro headwinds outside China dominated the market and off-season pessimism spread quickly. The industry’s outlook expectations weakened, end-users remained on the sidelines, and rigid demand stayed sluggish. Traders concentrated on selling to destock and offered discounts. On the futures front, overseas macro developments were the core driver this week. The US non-farm payrolls data significantly exceeded expectations, the unemployment rate stayed low, and the market delayed or even canceled expectations for a US Fed interest rate cut within the year…