[Daily Review of NPI] High-grade NPI prices remain firm amid supply-demand mismatch, downstream enterprises cautious

SMM reported on August 7,

       On August 7, the average price of SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI was 918.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), up 0.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day. Supply side, domestic refineries and traders continued to raise their quotes, with upstream enterprises actively refusing to budge on prices, but there had been no large-scale transactions yet. On the consumption side, some traders had made high-priced transactions during the week, and the market generally had bullish expectations for the future outlook. However, downstream stainless steel enterprises had low acceptance, and the market was waiting to see the quotes from large downstream enterprises. Overall, the center of high-grade NPI quotes had risen, but there had been no large-scale transactions in the market yet.