The expected improvement in tariffs is driving a rebound in futures, while stainless steel spot transactions remain weak and await changes. [SMM Stainless Steel Spot Daily Review]
SMM Stainless Steel Spot Market Daily Review: Tariff Expectation Improvement Drives Futures Rebound, Stainless Steel Spot Transactions Remain Weak and Await Change. On April 23, last night's news showed that US President Trump stated that the current tariffs on China are too high and plans to significantly reduce them, releasing a positive signal of tariff war easing. Meanwhile, Trump clearly stated that he has no intention of firing Fed Chairman Powell, and this series of remarks significantly cooled market risk aversion sentiment. As a result, the futures market performed strongly overall, with all varieties except gold rising, and SS futures also rebounded after the daytime session opened. However, despite the rebound in futures prices, the spread between futures and spot prices for stainless steel remains significant. Due to market doubts about the subsequent trend, the cautious wait-and-see atmosphere is strong, and downstream purchasing enthusiasm has not been effectively boosted, with market transactions remaining weak. Current market transactions are still dominated by low-priced warrants, and overall trading activity has not improved significantly.
In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2506 stopped falling and began to rebound. At 10:30 am, SS2506 was quoted at 12,785 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils in Wuxi was 13,125 yuan/mt, and in Foshan, it was 13,155 yuan/mt.
Currently, although the US has released signals of tariff easing, specific policy measures have not yet been announced, and the subsequent impact on the market remains uncertain. At the spot market level, even as the Labour Day holiday approaches, the expected pre-holiday stockpiling surge has not arrived. Dominated by cautious wait-and-see sentiment, market transactions continue to be sluggish. Although current stainless steel prices are at relatively low levels, downstream demand...