[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Off-Season Market Pessimism and Weak SS Futures Drag Down Stainless Steel Spot Prices] SMM, Nov. 3 – SS futures trended lower. Today, ferrous metals futures broadly weakened, coupled with stainless steel's weak fundamentals and sluggish demand, SS followed the decline, briefly breaking below 12,600 yuan/mt during the session. Although it recovered slightly in the afternoon, the overall trend remained weak. In the spot market, the continued decline in SS futures, along with relaxed price restrictions by stainless steel mills, prompted agents to lower offers under sales pressure, further pushing down stainless steel spot prices. October stainless steel production saw a slight increase, while November's anticipated production cuts are expected to be limited, keeping the overall supply outlook loose. However, with current demand persistently weak and macro tailwinds having little impact on stainless steel spot prices, the market is likely to remain in the doldrums in the short term. The most-traded SS2512 contract fell. At 10:30 a.m., SS2512 was quoted at 12,625 yuan/mt, down 85 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B ranged between 295-595 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil was 8,050 yuan/mt; cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coil averaged 12,900 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil was 25,150 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 25,200 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was quoted at 24,550 yuan/mt in both regions...

Today, Dalian iron ore futures weakened significantly, with the main contract I2601 eventually closing at 782.5 yuan, down 1.82% from the previous working day. The mainstream spot price at ports fell by 12-14 yuan/ton from the previous working day. The transaction price of PB powder in Shandong area was 786-788 yuan/ton,

BHP and POSCO will work together to progress ‘near zero emissions’1 ironmaking technology under an MoU signed today, advancing POSCO’s hydrogen reduction ironmaking technology (HyREX).

Today, iron ore futures were in the doldrums, with DCE I2601 contract closing at 800 yuan, down 0.56% from the previous trading day. Mainstream spot cargoes at ports fell 0-5 yuan/mt compared to yesterday.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: Bullish Macro Expectations Exhausted, Market Returns to Fundamentals; Weak Demand Keeps Stainless Steel Prices in the Doldrums] SMM October 31 – SS futures trended lower. Today, both SS and SHFE nickel futures weakened in tandem, with prices approaching 12,600 yuan/mt at one point during the session. In the spot market, the continued weakness in SS futures further dampened market confidence. Coupled with already sluggish transactions, traders lowered their offers further. During the week, stainless steel spot prices remained in the doldrums. With all bullish macro factors already priced in, the rally in SS futures paused, and the market refocused on fundamentals, with weak downstream demand dominating sentiment. Although there were reports of production cuts at stainless steel mills, the actual implementation remains to be seen. This week, social inventory increased slightly, up 0.04% WoW to 946,800 mt. The most-traded SS2512 futures contract declined. At 10:30 a.m., SS2512 was quoted at 12,710 yuan/mt, down 60 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 260-610 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,050 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi was 12,950 yuan/mt, and in Foshan, 12,950 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil, the price in Wuxi was 25,300 yuan/mt, and in Foshan, 25,300 yuan/mt; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, both locations reported 24,800 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 430/2B coil, both Wuxi and Foshan reported 7,600 yuan/mt…

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Tangshan May Edge Down] Iron ore concentrate prices in Tangshan, Hebei, remained relatively stable, with the delivery-to-factory price, tax included, for Fe66% iron ore concentrates on a dry basis ranging from 1,020 to 1,030 yuan/mt. The relatively tight supply of local iron ore concentrates provided some support to domestic ore prices.

According to the SMM survey, as of October 29, the blast furnace operating rate of the 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM stood at 86.21%, down 0.91 percentage points WoW.