Price Limit Cancelled at Stainless Steel Mill, Prices Move Downward [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

Published: Jun 10, 2025 17:47
[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Steel Mills Lift Price Caps, Prices Trend Downward] SMM June 10 - The SS futures market plunged today, with futures prices diving sharply and breaking through the key 12,500 yuan/mt level to settle at 12,460 yuan/mt. Persistently weak spot market transactions led to accumulating finished product inventories at stainless steel mills, intensifying pressure to refuse to budge on prices. News that a major mill lifted price caps in the morning quickly spread, further fueling market panic. Traders' willingness to sell increased markedly, with widespread sales promotions triggering frequent low-price offers. Despite hitting interim lows, downstream buyers grew more cautious amid the sustained downtrend, leaving transactions fundamentally unchanged. Futures side, the most-traded 2508 contract weakened and pulled back. At 10:30 am, SS2508 traded at 12,545 yuan/mt, down 110 yuan/mt from the previous session. Wuxi's 304/2B spot premiums/discounts ranged between 425-625 yuan/mt. Spot market prices: - Cold-rolled 201/2B coils: 7,850 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan - Cold-rolled 304/2B coils (trimmed): 12,925 yuan/mt average in both Wuxi and Foshan - Cold-rolled 316L/2B coils: 24,050 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan - Hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils: 23,350 yuan/mt in both regions - Cold-rolled 430/2B coils: ...

SMM News on June 10: Today, the SS futures market suffered a significant setback, with futures prices plunging sharply and breaking through the critical threshold of 12,500 yuan/mt, eventually closing at 12,460 yuan/mt. The sluggish trading conditions in the spot market have led to a continuous buildup of finished product inventories at stainless steel mills, increasing the pressure to refuse to budge on prices. In the morning, news of a major steel mill canceling price limits spread rapidly, further exacerbating market pessimism. Traders' willingness to sell increased significantly, and they adopted sales promotion strategies, leading to frequent appearances of low-priced goods in the market. Despite prices reaching a cyclical low, the ongoing downward trend has intensified downstream buyers' wait-and-see sentiment, and trading conditions in the market have not seen substantial improvement.

In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2508 weakened and pulled back. At 10:30 a.m., SS2508 was quoted at 12,545 yuan/mt, down 110 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi region, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 425-625 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 7,850 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils was 12,925 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,925 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 24,050 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 24,050 yuan/mt in Foshan; the hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted at 23,350 yuan/mt in both regions; and the cold-rolled 430/2B coils were both priced at 7,500 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan.

Currently, the stainless steel market is mired in the traditional consumption off-season, with downstream demand remaining sluggish. Despite enterprises generally facing losses, some steel mills have implemented production cuts. However, due to the large production base in the early stage, current supply remains at a historical high, and the market is facing a prominent oversupply contradiction. The selling pressure on stainless steel mills and agents has surged. With steel mills canceling price limits, market pessimism has spread, and traders are scrambling to sell, pushing stainless steel quotes lower. The raw material side is also under pressure. Affected by expectations for production cuts at steel mills, the price increase of high-grade NPI has been hindered; the price of high-carbon ferrochrome has continued to decline, further weakening the cost support for stainless steel. If the subsequent production cut efforts fall short of expectations, against the backdrop of weak demand in the off-season, the short-term weak performance of stainless steel prices is unlikely to reverse.

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
Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].
17 hours ago
Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].
Read More
Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].
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.
17 hours ago
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)
18 hours ago
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)
Read More
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)
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.
18 hours ago
[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday
18 hours ago
[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday
Read More
[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday
[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...
18 hours ago
Price Limit Cancelled at Stainless Steel Mill, Prices Move Downward [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] - Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)