SHANGHAI, Mar 8 (SMM) - Stainless steel prices soared by over 1,800 yuan/mt yesterday, while LME nickel gained more than 25% and SHFE nickel climbed above 200,000 yuan/mt.

The output of stainless steel has increased since November as the power rationing has been eased. However, downstream producers’ consumption thinned, suppressing stainless steel prices. Stainless steel mills suffered losses as prices of raw material like ferrochrome and NPI were at high levels, in spite of correction. Especially, #200-series stainless steel prices have declined 2,900 yuan/mt or 22.3% since early November.

The stainless steel market has experienced various news shocks last week. Although the authenticity of the news has yet to be confirmed, it has also caused a certain impact on the market. The current market sentiment is relatively pessimistic.

The stainless steel market pessimism remained last week. The prices of most ferrous products like rebar and non-ferrous metals declined. The stainless steel futures and spot prices fell to varying degrees, with prices falling by nearly 1,000 yuan/mt. The prices of stainless steel have trended lower.

Typhoon "Fireworks" landed strongly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Zhejiang was first hit by storms.

Stainless steel output continued to increase in July, hitting a new year high.

Stainless steel consumption has improved significantly month-on-month in July, but remained weaker than the same period last year. Inventories extended declines, suggesting robust sales in major markets, but remained higher compared to July 2019, according to the recent SMM survey.

China’s imports and exports of stainless steel declined sharply in the first two months of 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. About 149,060 mt of stainless steel was imported to China in the January-February period, down 38.56% from the same period last year, while exports dropped 11.92% to 442,180 mt.

China produced 29.4 million mt of crude stainless steel in 2019, up 10.08% from 2018, according to data from the Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association.

Industrial activity levels outside of central China continues to improve as workers return from quarantine periods and logistics pressures eased.