[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Break Through 13,100 yuan/mt, Stainless Steel Spot Prices Follow Upward Trend

SMM December 24 news, SS futures showed a further strengthening and upward exploration trend. SHFE nickel and SS futures continued their upward trend, breaking through 13,000 yuan/mt and hitting highs since September, with the intraday high reaching 13,105 yuan/mt. In the spot market, driven by the sustained momentum from the strength in SS futures, market sentiment was bullish, and spot traders raised their offers. However, against the backdrop of the year-end off-season, downstream end-users had low acceptance for high-priced cargo, resulting in sluggish transactions for high-priced goods, while low-priced cargo became scarce.

The most-traded SS futures contract strengthened and moved higher. At 10:30 am, SS2602 was quoted at 13,100 yuan/mt, up 180 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In the Wuxi area, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of -30 to 270 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil was reported at 8,150 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled mill edge 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi was 13,050 yuan/mt, and in Foshan was 13,025 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi, the price was 24,000 yuan/mt, and in Foshan, 24,000 yuan/mt; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, Wuxi reported 23,100 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled 430/2B coil, both Wuxi and Foshan were at 7,600 yuan/mt.

Recently, as the transition of the US Fed Chairman approaches, coupled with data gaps caused by the earlier US government shutdown, market concerns about uncertainty in macro policy have intensified further. Although stainless steel futures were already at relatively low levels, the lack of strong upward momentum kept them fluctuating at lows. Affected by the low and fluctuating futures, spot market confidence was already weak, compounded by significant year-end off-season demand characteristics, leading downstream users to primarily engage in just-in-time procurement. However, news subsequently emerged about potential reductions in Indonesian nickel ore approvals, which quickly ignited market sentiment, driving SHFE nickel and SS futures higher simultaneously, and spot prices followed the upward trend. Recently, stainless steel mills implemented production cuts, arrivals were low, and concurrently, export policy adjustments reinstated stainless steel products into the export license management scope, effective January 1, 2026. Export enterprises, rushing to complete operations before the policy takes effect during the window period, are intensifying processing and cargo pick-up, accelerating the drawdown of existing inventory. Social inventory fell 2.21% WoW to 926,700 mt. On the raw material side, although high-grade NPI prices stopped rising and pulled back during the week, high-carbon ferrochrome prices strengthened somewhat. Furthermore, recent news about reduced nickel ore quotas in Indonesia for 2026 is expected to provide favorable support for future stainless steel costs.