SHANGHIA, May 19 (SMM) -- Today, mainstream offers of EMM were between RMB 14,900-15,100/mt, and the lasting sluggish buying let domestic EMM prices continue to slip.

According to SMM sources, China's EMM prices were near or below cost level at producers without their own mines and most producers wanted to halt production and ceased to quote offers. According to an official from an EMM producer, "Current stable high prices of raw material like ore powder have already made producers profitless, and producers will be under even greater pressure if Chinese Government lifts electricity prices for producers with high energy consuming in June. In this context, some producer can only halt production if prices continue to slip".

According to SMM sources, transactions at #200 stainless steel market which is a major downstream consumer of EMM was sluggish, and prices of #200 stainless steel  continued to slip as well. The expanding short position sentiment let most stainless steel producers make purchases on an as-needed basis and try to purchase goods as few as possible. Most traders were also pessimistic towards future outlook, only few traders planned to take the opportunity to replenish stocks when prices were low.

To contact the writer on this report: jianghanmei@smm.cn

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