As the off-season approaches, stainless steel scrap prices continue to follow the decline in finished stainless steel prices [SMM Weekly Review of Stainless Steel Scrap Market]

This week, prices of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China pulled back to 9,800-9,900 yuan/mt, while prices of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in Foshan also pulled back to 9,600-9,900 yuan/mt. Currently, when calculated by raw material, the production cost of stainless steel produced entirely from stainless steel scrap is approximately 13,713.16 yuan/mt, while the production cost of stainless steel produced entirely from high-grade NPI is approximately 13,473.76 yuan/mt. This week, a steel mill in south China did not update its procurement prices for stainless steel scrap.

This week, despite the slight rise in high-grade NPI prices, as the stainless steel market entered the traditional consumption off-season, downstream end-use demand remained weak. Consequently, stainless steel finished product prices continued to decline, and stainless steel scrap prices followed suit, moving in tandem with finished product prices. This week, there were continuous reports of production cuts at stainless steel mills, and the market expected demand for stainless steel scrap to decline accordingly. Meanwhile, compared to high-grade NPI, stainless steel scrap still has significant disadvantages in terms of cost-effectiveness. Against this backdrop, traders are generally pessimistic about the market outlook and have adopted a profit-yielding sales strategy, driving stainless steel scrap prices to remain in the doldrums.