SMM SHFE SS April Contract Review

SHANGHAI, May 22 (SMM) - In April, the stainless steel futures prices moved rangebound. At the beginning of the month, the market players were generally bullish and tried to stir up market optimism, hence the spot and futures prices both grew. In mid-April, the futures prices fluctuated within a narrow range, while in the spot market, stainless steel mills set price limits and frequently sealed the deals, which drove up the traded price somewhat. However, many downstream companies still took a wait-and-see approach, curbing the prices from rising too high. In late April, the futures prices still moved rangebound narrowly, and the market sentiment did not ease until early May when the US Fed hiked the rate as expected, the US dollar rose and the YoY growth of US core PCE was higher than anticipated. The stainless steel output increased in May, but the market demand has not grown significantly. The spot prices will thus drop. The futures price trend is unclear at present, though so far, the bears are more active. SMM predicts that the stainless steel futures prices will continue to move rangebound in the short term.