Stainless steel imports and exports increased in October, with imports rising to a new high of 200,000 mt

SHANGHAI, Dec 1 (SMM)—The stainless steel market remained stable with scarce transactions. The basic quotations of #304 cold rolled coils were between 12,900-13,400 yuan/mt. According to the survey from traders, due to the tight spot supply from Hongwang, some agents had suspended selling coils, and they are reserving the supply for later sale of plates.

Tsingshan's open quotation of #304 133.32cm cold rolling stainless steel futures was 12,800 yuan/mt for next year's January. Hongwang has received sufficient futures orders for December and January. Prices of #201 cold rolled stainless steel remained stable. The guidance prices of #430 cold rolled stainless steel spots has risen to 9,000-9,200 yuan/mt, and are expected to continue the upward trend.

China's total stainless steel exports rose 21,000 mt from September to 284,400 mt in October, up 7.96% on the month but down 9.61% on the year. The total stainless steel imports in October increased 30,000 mt from September to 207,000 mt, up 16.9% on the month and 136.34% on the year. The increase of October imports mainly came from the additional 28,400 mt of imported sheet/plate and the additional 40,000 mt of sheet from Indonesia.

According to SMM researches, the export volumes of stainless steel products and home appliances are expected to remain at high levels in November, as operating rates of stainless steel plants overseas are limited by COVID-19, while China's production has mostly recovered with the effective control of the pandemic.

Profits: As the spot prices of stainless steel remained stable, the losses on the full costs in the stainless steel plants with NPI facilities were about 1,330 yuan/mt based on the raw material inventories. Based on the daily raw material inventories, the losses on the full costs in ordinary stainless steel plants were around 880 yuan/mt amid the decline of NPI and stainless steel scrap prices.

For more information on the China nickel market, please subscribe to China Nickel Weekly.