[SMMS Stainless Steel Daily Review: Macro Factors Drive SS Futures to Stop Falling and Rebound, Spot Stainless Steel Follows Suit] SMM reported on August 25 that the SS futures showed a trend of stopping the decline and rebounding. Influenced by the dovish expectations for the US Fed, the overall futures strengthened, with SS futures fluctuating upward during the day, reaching a high point above 12,900 yuan/mt. In the spot market, driven by the rebound in futures, the bullish sentiment in the spot market recovered, and traders' quotations strengthened again. With stronger expectations, inquiries were good during the day, and trading conditions also improved WoW. For futures, the most-traded contract 2510 fluctuated upward. At 10:30 am, SS2510 was quoted at 12,830 yuan/mt, up 85 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B in Wuxi ranged between 340-490 yuan/mt. In the spot market, 201/2B cold-rolled coils in Wuxi were quoted at 8,050 yuan/mt; 304/2B cold-rolled edge coils averaged 13,075 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,050 yuan/mt in Foshan; 316L/2B cold-rolled coils were 25,625 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; 316L/NO.1 hot-rolled coils were 24,950 yuan/mt in both locations; 430/2B cold-rolled coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were 7,400 yuan/mt. Last week, SS futures continued to fall, completely erasing the gains made within the month, basically pulling back to the level at the end of July, with the low point even dropping to the key level of 12,700 yuan/mt. Affected by this, the spot market also weakened. Downstream...

Today, Dalian iron ore futures rose sharply, with the most-traded I2601 contract closing at 787, up 2.27% from last Friday. Traders' enthusiasm for quoting prices was moderate; steel mills were cautious and mainly purchasing as needed.

According to the SMM survey, the large-caliber inventory of SMM Ningbo HRC this week was 345,200 mt (as of August 20), with a WoW increase of 45,700 mt.This week, HRC prices fluctuated downward, with weekly spot price declines of 30-80 yuan/mt. The market trading atmosphere was poor during the week, with downstream end-users mainly adopting a wait-and-see approach. As of the afternoon close on August 22, the most-traded HRC 2510 futures contract closed at 3,361 yuan/mt.

Today, the most-traded iron ore futures contract I2601 was in the doldrums, closing at 770, down 0.71% from yesterday. Traders' quotation enthusiasm was moderate; steel mills were cautious and observing, with purchase willingness being average as the weekend approached.

[SS Futures Fall to 12,700 Yuan/mt, Spot Market Sluggish with Prices Pulling Back] SMM reported on August 22 that the SS futures continued to show a pullback. The decline in futures had not yet stopped, and prices fluctuated downward during the day, hitting a low of 12,700 yuan/mt. In the spot market, influenced by the continuous decline in futures, downstream end-users maintained a wait-and-see sentiment and mostly made just-in-time procurement. Under pressure to sell, traders further lowered their spot quotations. This week, social inventory decreased further, down 0.02% WoW to 933,400 mt. In futures, the most-traded contract 2510 moved lower. At 10:30 am, SS2510 was quoted at 12,745 yuan/mt, down 45 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, 304/2B spot premiums and discounts were in the range of 325-525 yuan/mt. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coils were quoted at 8,000 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 304/2B coils, with an average price of 13,000 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,000 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils, 25,475 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils, 24,900 yuan/mt in both regions; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils, 7,350 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. Recently, SS futures have continued to fall, completely erasing the gains made within the month, and have largely pulled back to the level at the end of July, with the low point reaching the key level of 12,700 yuan/mt.

- China's cumulative imports of sheets & plates from January-July decreased by 17%, with a significant drop in coated sheets (strips) According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's cumulative imports of sheets & plates from January to July were 2.8537 million mt, down 17% YoY. By product type, cumulative imports of coated sheets (strips) fell by 40% YoY, galvanized sheets (strips) by 23% YoY, HRC by 22% YoY, and medium-thickness plates by 16% YoY; in addition, cumulative imports of strip steel, cold-rolled, and electrical steel sheets (strips) all showed declines of varying degrees YoY.