Underperforming Peak Season With Weakening Market Expectations, Stainless Steel Scrap's Economic Advantage Widens but Price Remains Difficult to Rise [SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Market Weekly Review]

Published: Sep 19, 2025 14:52

Save

This week, the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China remained stable at 9,700-9,800 yuan/mt; in Foshan, the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts dropped slightly to 9,400-9,700 yuan/mt. Currently, by raw material, the production cost of stainless steel using entirely stainless steel scrap is approximately 13,535.53 yuan/mt, while the cost using entirely high-grade NPI is about 13,663.84 yuan/mt. This week, a steel mill in south China has not adjusted its tender price for stainless steel scrap procurement.

This week, stainless steel finished product prices experienced fluctuations, rising first and then falling, but overall remained basically flat compared to last week. Although the price of high-grade NPI rose slightly, the momentum of the increase has significantly slowed. At the same time, the upward momentum of high-carbon ferrochrome also gradually weakened. During the week, stainless steel scrap prices remained relatively stable overall but showed a weakening downward trend. Due to the failure of the traditional peak season to meet sales expectations, stainless steel mills faced losses from cost-price inversions, leading to a noticeable cooling in procurement enthusiasm for raw materials, with a focus mainly on stable-price purchases. Although stainless steel scrap has gained some economic advantage compared to high-grade NPI, the market generally lacks bullish expectations.

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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

22 hours ago

Before the holiday, the black chain is unlikely to see a trend-driven market [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report].

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums, with coking coal and coke staging a mid-week rise. At the beginning of the week, financial markets experienced sharp fluctuations, dragging down sentiment in the ferrous chain and leading to a pullback in futures. Mid-week, Indonesia's cut to coke production quotas drove coking coal and coke futures to lead the gains, though the impact was more pronounced on thermal coal, while coking coal's rise was largely sentiment-driven and short-lived. In the latter part of the week, finished products continued their seasonal inventory buildup, and support from the raw material side weakened, causing the entire ferrous chain to pull back. In the spot market, with the Chinese New Year holiday approaching, purchasing activity slowed down further, with end-users only making limited, as-needed purchases at low prices.

22 hours ago

23 hours ago

MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (February 6)

Today, the DCE iron ore futures continued to hit bottom today, with the most-traded contract I2605 closing at 760.5 yuan/mt, down 1.23% from the previous trading day. Spot prices fell by 5–10 yuan/mt compared to the previous trading day.

23 hours ago

[SMM Chromium Daily Review] Inquiries and Transactions Weakened, Chromium Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Trading and Inquiries Weakened, Chrome Market Showed Mediocre Performance Before the Holiday] February 6, 2026: Today, the ex-factory price of high-carbon ferrochrome in Inner Mongolia was 8,500-8,600 yuan/mt (50% metal content), flat MoM from the previous trading day...

23 hours ago