Inventory pressure for stainless steel has eased, and the market has a clear expectation for price increases [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Stainless Steel Inventory Pressure Eases, Market Sentiment for Price Increase is Evident] SMM reported on July 17 that the SS futures market experienced a trend of initial decline followed by an increase, showing an overall upward exploration. In the spot market, influenced by the weakening futures market in the morning, the sentiment of spot traders was slightly weak, and quotes continued the weak trend from the previous day. Subsequently, as the futures market gradually strengthened and climbed, spot quotes also increased, and inquiry enthusiasm gradually recovered. Although transactions did not become significantly active, market sentiment had improved significantly, with the recent spot market being notably influenced by the futures market. This week, the social inventory of stainless steel dropped back slightly again, decreasing by 0.82% to 982,700 mt. In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2509 was in the doldrums. At 10:30 a.m., SS2509 was quoted at 12,640 yuan/mt, down 70 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B stainless steel in the Wuxi area ranged from 180 to 380 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 7,650 yuan/mt; the cold-rolled 304/2B coils with rough edges had an average price of 12,750 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,750 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 23,700 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 23,700 yuan/mt in Foshan; the hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were both quoted at 23,200 yuan/mt in the two regions; the cold-rolled 430/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both priced at 7,100 yuan/mt. Despite the stop falling and rebound of the SS futures market and the strengthening of prices, the fundamental aspects of stainless steel spot...