Cost Advantages Fail to Offset Weak Demand, Stainless Steel Scrap Prices Decline [SMM Analysis]

Published: Apr 25, 2025 15:42

Save

This week, the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China weakened and declined to 9,600-9,700 yuan/mt, while the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in Foshan also declined to 9,400-9,700 yuan/mt. Currently, based on raw material calculations, the production cost of stainless steel using entirely stainless steel scrap is approximately 13,417.11 yuan/mt, and the production cost of stainless steel using entirely high-grade NPI is approximately 13,704.2 yuan/mt. This week, a steel mill in south China purchased 304 stainless steel scrap molten steel at 9,150 yuan/mt.

This week, the prices of stainless steel finished products, high-grade NPI, and high-carbon ferrochrome all declined simultaneously. The persistent inversion of costs and selling prices for stainless steel mills has made it difficult to reverse, leading to a significant reduction in companies' purchase willingness for high-priced raw materials. Affected by this pessimistic market sentiment, the price of stainless steel scrap also fell. Although stainless steel scrap still has a clear cost advantage compared to high-grade NPI, under the overall cautious and wait-and-see market atmosphere, the trading activity in the stainless steel scrap market was noticeably insufficient this week. At the same time, the poor performance of stainless steel mills' May futures orders has exacerbated the inversion of costs and profits, strengthening expectations for production cuts. Additionally, the subsequent impact of US tariff policies has not yet fully materialized, creating significant uncertainty on the demand side for stainless steel scrap. Considering the above factors, it is expected that the price of stainless steel scrap will continue to maintain a weak trend in the short term.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

22 hours ago

Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums, with coking coal and coke staging a mid-week rise. At the beginning of the week, financial markets experienced sharp fluctuations, dragging down sentiment in the ferrous chain and leading to a pullback in futures. Mid-week, Indonesia's cut to coke production quotas drove coking coal and coke futures to lead the gains, though the impact was more pronounced on thermal coal, while coking coal's rise was largely sentiment-driven and short-lived. In the latter part of the week, finished products continued their seasonal inventory buildup, and support from the raw material side weakened, causing the entire ferrous chain to pull back. In the spot market, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, purchasing activity slowed down further, with end-users only making limited, as-needed purchases at low prices.

22 hours ago

MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)

Today, the DCE iron ore futures continued to hit bottom today, with the most-traded contract I2605 closing at 760.5 yuan/mt, down 1.23% from the previous trading day. Spot prices fell by 5–10 yuan/mt compared to the previous trading day.

22 hours ago

23 hours ago

[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Trading and Inquiries Weakened, Chrome Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday] February 6, 2026: Today, the ex-factory price of high-carbon ferrochrome in Inner Mongolia was 8,500-8,600 yuan/mt (50% metal content), flat MoM from the previous trading day...

23 hours ago