304 Stainless Steel Cold Rolled Market Faces High Costs Limited Downstream Transmission Pressures Profits

SMM March 21 News,

This week (March 17-21, 2025), the market situation for 304 stainless steel cold-rolled products remained grim. The prices of raw materials such as nickel iron still maintained at a relatively high level, which kept the cost of 304 stainless steel cold-rolled coils under continuous pressure.

Cost side, at the beginning of the week, the cost of 304 stainless steel cold-rolled coils was around 13,670 yuan/mt, and then it was basically stable around this level. By March 21, the cost remained at about 13,750 yuan/mt. Although there were no dramatic fluctuations, the high costs continued to exert pressure on the market.

In the spot market, the price of 304 stainless steel cold-rolled coils fluctuated around 13,450 yuan/mt this week, with very limited increases, struggling to keep up with the pace of rising costs. Despite frequent attempts by major producers to raise prices, the transmission of higher prices downstream was limited.

Profitability-wise, the profit margin for the week was around -2%. On March 17, the profit margin was approximately -1.6%, but with stable costs and struggling price increases, the profit margin continued to decline, reaching -2.2% by March 21, further exacerbating losses. The fluctuation of costs at highs and the struggle of prices to rise led to a continuous compression of profit margins. Even though there was some trading activity in the market, the gap between costs and prices could not be effectively narrowed, leading to a continuous deterioration in profitability.

This week, the cost of 304 stainless steel cold-rolled coils remained at a high level, with only slight price increases, and the gap between costs and prices widened, resulting in a significant decline in profit margins. Improvement in profits still depends on a substantial increase in downstream demand and adjustments in the market structure.

It is expected that next week, costs will remain in a high range, and downstream demand will not see significant improvement in the short term, leaving profit margins constrained.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Chaoxing Yang at 13585549799 (same as WeChat).

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