As tariff impacts gradually diminished, stainless steel inventory decreased by 0.28% week-over-week amid shifting supply-demand dynamics

SMM April 17 News,

This week (April 11-17, 2025), the total stainless steel inventory in the Wuxi and Foshan markets showed a destocking trend, decreasing from 1.0022 million mt on April 10, 2025, to 999,400 mt on April 17, down 0.28% WoW. This change was mainly attributed to two factors: on one hand, the bearish sentiment and wait-and-see attitude triggered by last week's tariff event gradually dissipated, leading to a rebound in downstream enterprises' purchasing enthusiasm; on the other hand, the strong wind over the weekend hindered transportation, resulting in a significant reduction in arrivals, which collectively drove the decline in market inventory.

From the perspective of sub-markets, the inventory performance of various series of stainless steel in the Wuxi and Foshan markets varied. The Wuxi market overall achieved destocking, but the inventory changes of different series diverged. The significant decrease in 300-series cold-rolled warrants strongly boosted the overall destocking; while the 400-series, due to its firm prices and the impact of export tariffs, saw weakened market demand, leading to inventory buildup. The WoW changes in 200-series, 300-series, and 400-series inventories in the Wuxi market were -1.35%, -1.16%, and 0.45%, respectively.

In the Foshan market, the 200-series and 400-series inventories decreased by 0.3% and 0.75% WoW, respectively, while the 300-series inventory increased by 2.04%. The buildup in 300-series inventory was mainly due to the large volume of arrivals this week. Although downstream demand for cargo pick-up existed, the pickup volume did not match the arrivals, ultimately leading to an increase in inventory.

SMM analysis suggests that the bearish sentiment caused by the current tariff issue has largely subsided, but the impact on stainless steel and its downstream product exports remains significant, and this impact will gradually manifest over the coming period. To alleviate the price pressure from high inventory, stainless steel producers are expected to moderately reduce their production schedule in May.

Looking ahead to next week, with downstream purchasing enthusiasm expected to further improve and producers' reduced production schedule likely to lower market supply growth, the dual effects of demand-side improvement and supply-side contraction are expected to continue the destocking trend in the Wuxi and Foshan stainless steel markets.

If you have any questions regarding stainless steel inventory, please feel free to contact us: Chaoxing Yang at 13585549799 (WeChat ID is the same).

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