[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Futures in the Doldrums, Spot Stainless Steel Trading Sluggish] SMM October 20: SS futures showed a weak and fluctuating trend. The decline in SHFE nickel dragged SS futures down, with prices hovering around 12,600 yuan/mt during the day. In the spot market, today's market continued last week's weak trend. The weak futures performance affected market sentiment, and trading remained sluggish. Although prices were generally stable, traders offered discounts under shipment pressure, with occasional low prices reported. For futures, the most-traded contract, SS2512, fluctuated weakly. At 10:30 a.m., SS2511 was quoted at 1,230 yuan/mt, up 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of 390-690 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,000 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coil was 13,000 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil was 25,500 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was quoted at 24,950 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coil was 7,600 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. Despite the traditional peak consumption season of "September-October peak season," October's planned stainless steel production increased further, and restocking is expected...

On October 20, DCE i2601 Iron Ore Futures Contract closed at 767 yuan/mt, down 0.58% from the previous trading day. Spot cargoes at major ports fell by 1–5 yuan/mt, with PB fines transaction prices in Shandong region ranging between 775–778 yuan/mt,

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Shandong May Fluctuate] In Shandong, the pre-tax acceptance price for iron ore concentrates with 64% grade on a dry basis is 874 yuan, up 10 yuan. Most local miners are operating normally, with a few slightly increasing production. Steel mills' long-term contract purchases remain relatively stable. Currently, the cost-effectiveness of imported ore is significantly better than that of domestic ore, but this has not yet had a noticeable impact on the transaction volume of local domestic concentrates.

Today, iron ore futures continued to trade in the doldrums, with the most-traded contract I2601 closing at 771, down 0.19% from the previous day. Some traders halted sales, while steel mills exhibited stronger wait-and-see sentiment, resulting in limited inquiries. Market transaction activity remained sluggish.

According to the SMM survey, this week, the SMM broad-gauge inventory of HRC in Ningbo stood at 410,000 mt (as of October 15), up 6,000 mt WoW.This week, HRC prices were in the doldrums, with spot prices falling by 50-100 yuan/mt on a weekly basis. The market trading atmosphere remained moderate during the week, with end-users restocking on an as-needed basis. By the afternoon close on October 17, the most-traded HRC 2601 futures contract settled at 3,204 yuan/mt.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Futures Recovered, Stainless Steel Spot Prices Attempted to Rise] SMM October 17: SS futures showed a relatively strong and rangebound fluctuation. Driven by the strength in SHFE nickel, SS futures recovered from previous lows and traded rangebound around 12,610 yuan/mt during the day. In the spot market, stainless steel spot prices strengthened in the afternoon of the previous day, driven by the rise in SS futures. Today's quotes basically continued the levels seen yesterday afternoon, with SS futures showing some recovery. Meanwhile, as prices have reached relatively low levels, market sentiment gradually recovered. This week, amid intensified China-US trade tensions and SS futures hitting bottom, market confidence was generally weak, and trading was sluggish. Additionally, prices for high-grade NPI and high-carbon ferrochrome both declined, leading to a loosening of cost support for stainless steel and an unexpected drop in spot prices. Social inventory increased significantly this week, up 5.19% WoW to 952,600 mt. However, current prices are approaching relatively low levels, and stainless steel costs are already in an inverted state. Coupled with market expectations that the US Fed will cut interest rates and halt balance sheet reduction, stainless steel prices are expected to avoid further significant declines. On the futures side, the most-traded contract 2512 showed relatively strong and rangebound fluctuations. At 10:30 a.m., SS2511 was quoted at 12,615 yuan/mt, up 90 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of 405-705 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B...