[SMM exclusive] in March, the PMI composite index of the stainless steel industry was well above the line of prosperity and decline, but in April it was dragged down by demand or fell back below the line of prosperity and decline.

As of April 15 Friday, SMM China copper inventory across major markets in China added 4,000 mt from Monday April 11 to 139,300 mt, down slightly by 1,000 mt from last Friday. The weekly inventory dropped again after a short increase last week. Compared with the domestic inventory recorded on Monday, the local stocks all added except for Shanghai during this period.

As of Friday, April 8, SMM copper inventory across mainstream regions in the country achieved the first weekly rise since March 4, with an increase of 3400 mt to 140300 mt compared with Wednesday April 6, and a slight increase of 2600 mt compared with last Friday.

At present, there are 24 iron and steel joint enterprises in Shanxi, China. In 2021, the pig iron output was 59.884 million mt, a year-on-year decrease of 1.6%; Crude steel output was 67.407 million mt, up 1.6% year-on-year; The output of steel products was 61.739 million mt, which was basically the same as that of the previous year.

The Lisbon-based International Nickel Study Group (INSG) released data on Monday March 21, showing that in January 2022, the global nickel market was oversupplied by 6,000 mt, while there was a supply shortage of 5,300 mt in the same period last year.

Under the influence of the increasingly severe pandemic, the epidemic prevention policy in domestic ports was strict, while the unloading capacity of terminals was restricted and the efficiency of cargo handling was reduced.

The social inventory of lead ingots across Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Tianjin dropped 3,200 mt from Friday March 11 and rose 9,800 mt from Monday March 7 to 119,000 mt as of March 14.

Zinc prices constantly hit new highs in March under the support of rising natural gas and electricity prices in the Europe amid energy supply concerns caused by geopolitical tensions.

According to sources, Indonesian President Jokowi admitted that the ban on raw ore export had not been without challenges, as the European Union (EU) has filed a lawsuit against Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Today, the spot prices of all series of stainless steel products in Foshan stood flat today. The average price of the 300 series product was around 18,000 yuan/mt. The market received a large number of goods last week, while the demand failed to keep up. The downstream users continued to purchase on rigid demand after the prices rebounded slightly yesterday.

The spot supply was relatively tight in the stainless steel market.