【Brief Review of Domestic Iron Ore Market: Iron Ore Concentrates Prices in Liaoning Region May Remain Stable】The market price of domestic ore in western Liaoning remains stable. The restocking by local steel mills after the holiday supports the sentiment of beneficiation plants to stand firm on quotes. Affected by safety inspections, the overall operating rate of local mines and beneficiation plants is at a relatively low level, and the resource shortage is quite evident. The overall wait-and-see sentiment is strong among mines and beneficiation plants. Currently, steel mills mainly purchase as needed.

【Dongfang Special Steel Stainless Steel Plate Prices】On May 7, 2025, Dongfang Special Steel's stainless steel plate prices: Hot-rolled coil (4-8mm) 304 price remained flat at 12,750; 316L price remained flat at 22,850.

【Zhangpu Stainless Steel Plate Prices】Zhangpu stainless steel plate prices on May 7, 2025: In the Wuxi market, 304 HRC was flat at 13,200; cold-rolled stainless steel was flat at 14,000; 316L HRC was flat at 23,300; cold-rolled 316L was flat at 24,000; 321 HRC was flat at 15,600; cold-rolled 321 was flat at 16,700. In the Foshan market, cold-rolled 304 was flat at 14,300; cold-rolled 316L was flat at 24,200. Prices in the Hangzhou market are 50 higher than those in Wuxi. Hangzhou = Wuxi + 50.

【TISCO Stainless Steel Plate Prices】TISCO stainless steel plate prices on May 7, 2025: Cold-rolled 304 at 15,850, unchanged; 321 at 16,400, unchanged; 316L at 25,650, unchanged; 430 at 9,800, down by 50; HRC 304 at 15,050, unchanged; 304L at 15,200, unchanged; 321 at 15,700, unchanged; 316L at 24,800, up by 100; Medium-thickness plates (random length) 304 at 16,700, unchanged; 304L at 16,900, unchanged; 321 at 18,800, unchanged; 316L at 28,000, unchanged.

【Tsingshan Stainless Steel Plate Prices】On May 7, 2025, Tsingshan's stainless steel wire rod prices: 316L wire rod (white wire) price was 23,800, up by 300; 316 wire rod (white wire) price was 23,700, up by 400.

【SMM Steel Mill Guidance Price】Guidance prices for various series of domestic large stainless steel mills on May 7: Some increased, some decreased.

Today, DCE Iron Ore futures opened higher and then fluctuated downward, with the most-traded contract I2509 eventually closing at 708, up 0.35% for the day. Traders' enthusiasm for selling was moderate; steel mills adopted a wait-and-see attitude cautiously, with some purchasing as planned, resulting in a generally moderate market transaction atmosphere.

[SMM Rebar Daily Review: Weak Balance of Supply and Demand Coupled with Pending Favourable Factors, Construction Steel to Maintain Wait-and-See Stance in Short Term] Today, rebar futures moved downwards after a higher opening, closing at 3,098 yuan/mt, up 0.19% from the previous trading day. In terms of spot prices, stimulated by favourable macro front news, spot prices in some regions increased by 10-20 yuan/mt, with overall trading performance being average.

[SMM Daily Review of Stainless Steel Spot Market: Tariff Easing Expectations Boost Market Sentiment, Prices Explore Upside] SMM reported on May 7 that news of China-US negotiations emerged today, signaling expectations of a de-escalation in the tariff war. Stimulated by this favourable macro front, SS futures surged and strengthened rapidly after the opening of the daytime session. However, due to the absence of concrete tariff adjustment policies, market confidence struggled to sustain, and futures prices subsequently fluctuated downward and gradually pulled back. In the spot market, the brief strength in futures prices boosted market sentiment. Coupled with the release of restocking demand after the Labour Day holiday, spot quotes explored an upside. Nevertheless, the acceptance of high-priced resources by downstream end-users remained insufficient, with market transactions dominated by just-in-time procurement. It is worth noting that as restocking progresses after the holiday, the availability of low-priced cargoes has decreased, to some extent supporting the firm performance of spot prices. In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2506 surged and then pulled back. At 10:30 a.m., SS2506 was quoted at 12,750 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils in Wuxi was 13,050 yuan/mt. Currently, the supply side of the stainless steel market continues to fluctuate at highs. Facing the pressure of losses, producers have reduced the production of heavily loss-making 300-series stainless steel and shifted to increase the output of 200-series and 400-series products to optimize the steel grade structure. However, influenced by recent policy changes, market uncertainties have increased significantly. Downstream enterprises have generally adopted a cautious attitude, with procurement behavior becoming increasingly conservative and consumer demand remaining sluggish. This supply-demand imbalance has become the main constraint for the current stainless steel market.

According to the SMM survey, as of May 7, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.96%, up 0.07 percentage point WoW.