Costs of Stainless Steel Remained Stable and the Losses Extended

SHANGHAI, Jan 10(SMM) - Last week, the prices of stainless steel were stable while the prices of raw materials remained firm, hence the losses were still serious. The cost of RKEF process was about 17,260 yuan/mt, while that of non-RKEF process was about 17,952 yuan/mt. Although the futures contract prices fluctuated widely last week, the overall prices stabilised as the fundamentals changed little. The demand weakened as the downstream processing plants were on holiday while the supply declined synchronously. On the raw material side, the NPI market held the prices firm due to the active delivery in the early stage and the high costs. Meanwhile, the overall prices of stainless steel scrap remained high amid the declining supply as the processing plants were on holiday. In terms of ferrochrome, the ferrochrome plants still suffered losses due to the high costs caused by the high chrome ore prices. As the stainless steel mills are expected to reduce the production in January, the ferrochrome prices may remain stable with downside potential. In general, the prices of finished steel were stable and the overall costs were relatively firm. Therefore, the profit margin of stainless steel stabilised and is expected to remain stable this week.