SMM HRC Daily: Futures Weak, Social Inventory Declines, Demand Exceeds Expectations

Published: Apr 24, 2025 17:14

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【SMM HRC Daily Review】Social Inventory Continues to Decline Well! Futures Market Under Pressure?

HRC futures prices weakened today, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,204, down 0.12%. In the spot market, merchants lowered their offers, and downstream buyers showed strong wait-and-see sentiment, resulting in overall trading performance weaker than yesterday. The HRC supply-demand balance data for the week was released, showing a slight increase in HRC production and continued good destocking of social inventory: SMM's statistics for the week showed that the HRC social inventory in 86 warehouses nationwide (large sample) was 3.6052 million mt, down 229,500 mt WoW, a decrease of 5.98% WoW, and down 13.79% YoY. The apparent demand exceeded expectations. In the short term, tariff conflicts continue, but overall, the impact on ferrous metals, especially steel prices, is limited. On the fundamental side, both domestic and export demand show some resilience in the short term, leaving limited room for HRC price fluctuations. The most-traded contract is expected to fluctuate within the range of 3,160-3,275.

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