Futures drive spot cargo prices up, and inquiries in the stainless steel market have recovered [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Futures Drive Spot Prices Up, Inquiries in Stainless Steel Market Recover Slightly] SMM reported on July 2 that, influenced by the increasingly clear expectations for US Fed interest rate cuts, the SS futures market stopped falling and rebounded again, with the intraday high approaching 12,700 yuan/mt. In the spot market, thanks to the boost from the futures market, traders' quotes generally strengthened in the morning. The relatively low quotes from yesterday had basically disappeared, and market inquiries also recovered slightly. Despite relatively small changes in the fundamentals, downstream cautious wait-and-see sentiment had not yet fully dissipated, and the degree of recovery in actual transactions was not ideal. However, driven by the concessions of some traders, the transaction situation had also slightly improved compared to previous days. Currently, although stainless steel prices are at a low level and steel mills are facing losses and production cuts, the in-plant inventory and social inventory of stainless steel mills remain high. The repair of the market supply-demand relationship still takes time, and it is difficult for the fundamentals to change significantly in the short term. The market is in a stalemate, and spot prices are mostly driven by the changes in the futures market. In terms of futures, the most-traded contract 2508 strengthened and rose. At 10:30 a.m., SS2508 was quoted at 12,635 yuan/mt, up 115 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi area, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B stainless steel ranged from 135-335 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 7,625 yuan/mt; the cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils had an average price of 12,700 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,700 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 23,800 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 23,800 yuan/mt in Foshan; the hot-rolled 316...