Stainless Steel Inventory Declined for Eight Consecutive Weeks, Market Awaits Peak Season in September [SMM Analysis]

SMM August 28 news: This week (August 22-28, 2025), the total inventory of Wuxi and Foshan, the two major stainless steel markets, showed a destocking trend, dropping from 933,400 mt on August 21, 2025 to 928,800 mt on August 28, down 0.49% WoW.

This week, the social inventory of stainless steel declined for the eighth consecutive week, pulling back to early-year levels. Affected by the dovish remarks from the US Fed, market expectations for an interest rate cut strengthened. On Monday, futures generally strengthened, with SS futures also rising, reversing last week's weakness and gradually restoring market confidence. The stainless steel spot market was similarly boosted. Coupled with the approaching traditional September-October peak season, downstream demand gradually recovered, and traders raised their offers during the week. Driven by the mentality to rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn, transactions recovered again. In addition, some traders rigidly picked up goods at month-end, leading to a decline in steel mills' front-end inventory. With arrivals remaining low during the week, the overall social inventory of stainless steel further decreased.