Stainless steel market remains in a stalemate, with spot prices temporarily stable [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

[SMM Daily Stainless Steel Review: Stainless Steel Market in a Stalemate, Spot Quotations Remain Stable] SMM reported on July 8 that the SS futures market strengthened again today, with the high point nearly reaching the 12,800 yuan/mt threshold. In the spot market, despite fluctuations in futures prices and a pull back in steel mills' guidance prices, retail quotations did not undergo significant adjustments and remained generally stable. Although transaction volumes improved compared to June, the extent of improvement was limited. The downstream market maintained a strong wait-and-see attitude, with transactions primarily relying on concessions from traders' early low-priced inventory. Today, the transaction price of high-grade NPI dropped again, with a stainless steel mill in South China concluding a deal for tens of thousands of mt at 900 yuan/mtu. Affected by expectations for production cuts at stainless steel mills, raw material prices continued to weaken, further eroding the cost support for stainless steel. In the futures market, the most-traded 2508 contract strengthened and rose. At 10:30 a.m., SS2508 was quoted at 12,715 yuan/mt, up 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi region, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B stainless steel ranged from 105 to 255 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 7,600 yuan/mt; cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils had an average price of 12,725 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,725 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 23,600 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 23,600 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted at 22,900 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both priced at 710...