Stainless steel transactions have recovered somewhat, and stainless steel inventory has pulled back during the week [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

Published: Jul 3, 2025 18:32

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[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Stainless Steel Trading Recovers, Stainless Steel Inventory Pulls Back During the Week] SMM reported on July 3 that the SS futures market continued to strengthen, further exploring and successfully breaking through the 12,700 yuan/mt threshold. In the spot market, driven by the continuous rise in the futures market, the activity of the stainless steel spot market improved, and trading conditions also recovered. Despite being in the off-season for consumption, the upward momentum of stainless steel spot prices was not as strong as that of the futures market. However, driven by the futures market, the supply of low-priced goods in the early stage gradually decreased. During the week, the social inventory of stainless steel further declined, pulling back by 1.42% WoW to 978,000 mt. In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2508 strengthened and rose. At 10:30 a.m., SS2508 was quoted at 12,675 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi region, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B stainless steel ranged from 135 to 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 316L/NO.1 coils were both quoted at 23,100 yuan/mt in the two regions; the cold-rolled 430/2B coils were both priced at 7,250 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan. Currently, the stainless steel market is still in the traditional off-season for consumption, with downstream demand failing to match the current supply level. In addition, the US...

SMM July 3, the most-traded stainless steel futures continued to strengthen, further testing and successfully breaking through the 12,700 yuan/mt mark. Spot market side, driven by consecutive gains in futures, stainless steel spot market activity improved with recovering transactions. Despite the current off-season, the upward momentum of stainless steel spot prices lagged behind futures, but low-priced spot cargoes gradually diminished under futures' influence. This week, stainless steel social inventory further declined by 1.42% WoW to 978,000 mt.

Futures side, the most-traded contract SS2508 rose strongly. At 10:30 am, SS2508 traded at 12,675 yuan/mt, up 40 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Wuxi's 304/2B spot premiums/discounts ranged 135-335 yuan/mt. In spot markets, Wuxi and Foshan's 201/2B cold-rolled coils both quoted at 7,625 yuan/mt; 304/2B cold-rolled coils averaged 12,700 yuan/mt in both locations; Wuxi's 316L/2B cold-rolled coils traded at 23,800 yuan/mt, matching Foshan's price; 316L/NO.1 hot-rolled coils quoted at 23,100 yuan/mt in both regions; 430/2B cold-rolled coils stood at 7,250 yuan/mt in both markets.

Currently, stainless steel market remains in traditional off-season, with downstream demand failing to match current supply levels. Additionally, uncertainties like US tariffs maintain strong wait-and-see sentiment downstream. Although mills generally face losses and production cut news emerged, massive previous production kept current supply at historically high levels, requiring time for supply-demand rebalancing. Both mill and social inventories stay at relatively high levels, with destocking slowing noticeably during off-season, putting significant sales pressure on mills, agents and traders, thus limiting stainless steel price rebounds. Raw material side also faces heavy pressure. Only high-carbon ferrochrome maintained stable tender prices due to overseas producers' cuts, while retail prices fell below tender levels. Other materials like high-grade NPI and stainless steel scrap prices weakened markedly, further eroding cost support. The market awaits supply-demand rebalancing after mills' production cuts.

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