According to the SMM survey, as of May 14, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.63%, down 0.33 percentage point WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 90.45%, down 0.65 percentage point WoW. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4403 million mt, down 17,600 mt WoW.

Today, DCE iron ore futures held up well, with the most-traded contract I2509 closing at 737, up 2.43% for the day. Traders were relatively active in selling, while steel mills purchased as needed.

[SMM Steel Mill Guidance Price] Guidance prices for various stainless steel series from large domestic stainless steel mills on May 14

Today, rebar futures fluctuated and closed at 3,127, up 1.23% from the previous trading day. Spot prices in various regions rose to varying degrees, and trading conditions improved compared to yesterday.

[SMM Stainless Steel Spot Market Daily Review: Favourable Macro Front Boosts SS Futures to Break Through 13,000 Yuan Mark, Spot Prices Rise and Transactions Rebound] SMM, May 14 — The US CPI data released last night became the market focus. The data showed that the indicator did not rise due to tariff policies but was lower than market expectations. This result provided support for the US Fed to cut interest rates as scheduled, thereby driving the overall strength of the non-ferrous metals futures market. Among them, SS futures performed particularly well, breaking through the 13,000 yuan mark. Driven by the strong performance of the futures market, stainless steel spot market quotations also rose. Some agency traders suspended trading of 304 HRC products, further intensifying market tension. Driven by the psychology of "rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn," the activity of low-priced sources significantly improved, and market trading heat quickly increased. On the futures side, the most-traded contract 2507 strengthened and rose. At 10:30 am, SS2507 was quoted at 13,050 yuan/mt, up 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 270-420 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 8,050 yuan/mt; the cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils averaged 13,225 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,200 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were quoted at 23,850 yuan/mt, and in Foshan at 23,850 yuan/mt; the hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted at 23,050 yuan/mt in both regions...