Stainless Steel Consumption Underperforms in Peak Season, Stainless Steel Inventory Stops Declining and Rebounds [SMM Analysis]

SMM September 25 - This week (September 19-25, 2025), the total stainless steel inventory in the Wuxi and Foshan markets showed a destocking trend, decreasing from 897,200 mt on September 18, 2025 to 909,000 mt on September 25, up 1.32% WoW.

This week, social inventory of stainless steel ended an 11-week consecutive destocking trend, halted the decline and rebounded slightly, with inventory again exceeding 900,000 mt, but it remained at a relatively low level for the year. Despite the current traditional peak consumption season of September-October peak season and the approaching National Day holiday, short-term macro tailwinds were largely released, SS futures pulled back, leading to an insignificant peak season effect. The cautious wait-and-see sentiment among downstream end-users in the stainless steel market intensified further, with purchase transactions relatively sluggish during the week. Additionally, affected by Typhoon Huajia Sha, cargo pick-up and transactions in the Foshan region faced some obstacles. Although the short-term cautious market sentiment was difficult to reverse, stainless steel mills were currently in a state of losses, and year-end macro policies remained largely favorable. A tug-of-war between longs and shorts made it difficult for stainless steel prices to rise or fall significantly. Subsequent downstream demand recovery needs close monitoring.