SS futures pulled back below 12,900 stainless steel spot prices fell due to weak transactions [SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review]

Published: Aug 19, 2025 18:36

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[SS Futures Drop Below 12,900 Yuan/mt, Spot Stainless Steel Prices Fall Amid Weak Trading] SMM August 19th report, the SS futures showed a weakening and pullback trend. Today, SS futures prices fell sharply, dropping from around 13,000 yuan/mt to below 12,900 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the reluctance to budge on prices among traders weakened due to the significant decline in SS futures. With sluggish trading persisting and month-end delivery pressures mounting, offers softened, pulling back slightly. However, under the sentiment of rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn, downstream wait-and-see sentiment intensified, leading to even more sluggish trading. On the futures side, the most-traded contract 2510 was in the doldrums. At 10:30 am, SS2510 was quoted at 12,910 yuan/mt, down 115 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 260-410 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were quoted at 8,050 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 304/2B coils with trimmed edges, averaged 13,075 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,075 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were 25,275 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 25,275 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were 24,750 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both 7,350 yuan/mt. Recently, social inventory of stainless steel has been declining continuously, and ongoing macro policy news has provided some support...

SMM August 19 - SS futures showed a weakening and pullback trend. Today, SS futures prices fell sharply from around 13,000 yuan/mt to below 12,900 yuan/mt. Spot market-wise, affected by the significant decline in SS futures, spot traders' reluctance to budge on prices weakened . Coupled with persistently sluggish transactions recently and increasing month-end delivery pressure, offers loosened and dropped back slightly . However, influenced by the sentiment of rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn, downstream wait-and-see sentiment intensified further, with transactions becoming increasingly sluggish .

Futures-wise, the most-traded contract 2510 was in the doldrums. At 10:30 am, SS2510 traded at 12,910 yuan/mt, down 115 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B ranged between 260-410 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan were both quoted at 8,050 yuan/mt; cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coils averaged 13,075 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils were priced at 25,275 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted at 24,750 yuan/mt in both regions; cold-rolled 430/2B coils were uniformly priced at 7,350 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan.

Recently, stainless steel social inventory continued to decline, and sustained macro policy stimuli boosted the stainless steel market to some extent. SS futures strengthened, breaking through the previous 13,000 yuan/mt resistance level early last week and approaching 13,300 yuan/mt. The earlier pessimistic sentiment eased slightly, with transactions gradually improving and traders continuously testing higher offers . However, the traditional consumption off-season persists, with no fundamental change in fundamentals. Downstream acceptance of high prices remains limited, resulting in insufficient transactions. Actual deals still rely on traders' price concessions, leading to pullbacks in futures prices and spot price declines . Overall, the recent market recovery was mainly driven by strong macro news, boosting futures prices. But spot fundamentals remained weak, with market participants struggling to accept high-priced materials, causing price fluctuations. The market still faces considerable uncertainty, requiring close monitoring of further policy developments and downstream demand recovery .

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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