SHANGHAI, May 8 (SMM) - The prices of 304 stainless steel increased slightly post the Labour Day holiday and the spot prices grew about 150 yuan/mt. During the Labour Day holiday, the stainless steel enterprises controlled the pace of cargo distribution. Post the holiday, a stainless steel enterprise in east China reduced the distribution of HRC and suspended the distribution of HRC. Given the intensive delivery before the holiday, the overall social inventory increased. But the spot supply was still tight. Even with low inventory and slow increase in spot prices, traders were still unwilling to stockpile and downstream orders did not increase significantly.
The prices of high-grade NPI rose slightly and are expected to remain strong in the short term with the plan of stainless steel plants to increase production in May. The prices of ferrochrome rose slightly and are expected to rise further amid the rising prices of chrome ore and the increasing demand brought by the rising stainless steel production schedules in May.
To sum up, the prices of stainless steel rose post the holiday and the inventory accumulated slowly. Although stainless steel factories still controlled the arrivals, SMM believes that the upward space of stainless steel spot prices is limited.


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