Losses of Stainless Steel Narrowed as the Prices Bottomed Out

SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (SMM) - At present, the cost of RKEF process stood at around 16,000 yuan/mt, flat from a week ago, and plants suffered losses. The decline of costs slowed down. Due to the short supply, the transactions increased and the prices of stainless steel bottomed out last week. Due to the high costs of stainless steel in the early stage, the production resumption of steel mills was less than expected, hence the demand for NPI was still weak. In terms of ferrochrome, although the output of domestic plants continued to decline, the supply was still in surplus amid the large import volume. Meanwhile, the steel mills put great pressure on the ferrochrome plants, hence the prices declined sharply. In terms of stainless steel, although the supply and demand was still weak, the prices increased due to the supply shortage in the early stage and the rhythm of arrivals. However, the stainless steel prices are expected to decline as the supply may increase in September and the arrivals of goods will become normal, in addition to weak expectations for demand. In terms of NPI, the NPI prices are expected to decline this week, but the decline will be limited. SMM expects that the profits of steel mills will remain stable this week.