[SMM Analysis] Stainless Steel Market Watch Intensifies as Inventory Rises and Demand Remains Sluggish

SMM reported on January 29 that this week (January 23-29, 2026), the total inventory in the two major stainless steel markets of Wuxi and Foshan showed a further trend of inventory buildup, decreasing from 844,100 mt on January 22, 2026, to 853,000 mt on January 29, 2026, an increase of 1.05% WoW.

Social inventory of stainless steel continued to rise this week. Although the overall level remained relatively low, the accumulation trend was clear. Current prices are already at high levels, lacking further upward momentum, and the futures market showed weak upward drive. Coupled with strong fear of high prices among downstream end-users, purchasing enthusiasm remained under pressure. Approaching the year-end, most downstream rigid pre-holiday stockpiling was completed, leading to a significant weakening in purchasing intensity this week. Furthermore, enterprises rushed to ship goods in December to seize the export policy window, which overdrawn January's export demand in advance. Even with the Chinese New Year approaching, the restocking momentum from the traditional pre-holiday stockpiling season was extremely limited and had minimal impact, with end-users' substantive willingness to purchase remaining persistently low. From the perspective of goods flow, orders from futures-spot trading institutions arrived successively, but most accumulated in the circulation channels without effectively flowing to end-users. Simultaneously, downstream operations gradually shut down for the holiday as the Chinese New Year approached, with market fear of high prices and holiday wind-down mentality intertwining, further suppressing purchasing demand. Although there are expectations for maintenance and production cuts at stainless steel mills in February, under the dominance of short-term weak demand, inventory still showed an accumulation trend. Overall, the current market's supply-demand imbalance structure is prominent, and the wait-and-see atmosphere continues to intensify.