Stainless steel cost and prices rose in sync driven by market news in the first week after the holiday, with ample market confidence awaiting the peak season [SMM analysis].

Published: Feb 27, 2026 16:18

Save

This week, stainless steel spot prices strengthened, while production costs also rose, further expanding steel mills' profit margins. Taking 304 cold-rolled products as an example, based on the current raw material prices, the full cost profit margin reached 0.15% this week; if calculated using the raw material inventory cost, it reached 1.74%.

On the cost side for nickel-based raw materials, news regarding Indonesian nickel ore continued to develop this week, pushing high-grade NPI prices further up. NPI producers are already in a loss-making position, showing strong willingness to hold prices firm. Coupled with expectations of increased stainless steel production in March boosting demand for high-grade NPI, although mainstream stainless steel mills have not yet seen representative transaction prices, market confidence remains strong. As of Friday this week, the price for high-grade NPI with 10-12% grade rose 33.5 yuan per mtu, closing at 1,085 yuan/mtu.

In the stainless steel scrap market, prices remained generally stable this week. Market recovery was slow in the first week after the holiday, as some scrap yards and downstream enterprises had not fully resumed work. The slow return to work led to insufficient trading activity and weak transactions. While futures prices fluctuated higher, boosted by Indonesian policy news, leading to a significant rise in high-grade NPI prices, stainless steel scrap prices did not fluctuate synchronously due to the lag in recovery. The advantage of stainless steel scrap relative to high-grade NPI further expanded, providing support for its price. With increased steel mill production schedules in March and the approach of the peak season "Golden March, Silver April", downstream demand is expected to be released, and procurement demand will increase. As of Friday this week, the price for 304 off-cuts in Shanghai remained stable, with the latest offer around 9,650 yuan/mt.

Regarding the cost side for chromium-based raw materials, high-carbon ferrochrome prices continued their stable trend this week. In the first week after the Chinese New Year holiday, the market gradually recovered, but overall transactions remained relatively sluggish, with retail prices holding steady. During the week, Tsingshan Group announced its March high-carbon ferrochrome tender price, which was unchanged from the previous month at 8,245 yuan/mt (50% metal content). However, with the approaching peak demand season "Golden March, Silver April", expectations of a significant increase in stainless steel production schedules in March, and recent rises in stainless steel prices, market expectations for increased ferrochrome demand have grown, and a sentiment for price exploration has emerged in the ferrochrome market. As of Friday this week, high-carbon ferrochrome prices in Inner Mongolia were flat WoW, closing at 8,550 yuan/mt (50% metal content).

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 for 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

15 hours ago

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SHFE nickel remains under pressure, SS futures prices are in the doldrums, stainless steel spot prices decline, and transactions are hard to improve in the off-season.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SHFE Nickel Under Sustained Pressure, SS Futures Prices in the Doldrums; Spot Stainless Steel Falls, Off-Season Transactions Hard to Improve According to SMM on July 2, SS futures showed an overall pattern of volatile declines. Dragged by consecutive drops in SHFE nickel, SS futures prices remained in the doldrums, but support at the 14,500 yuan/mt level held firm. As of the midday close, the most-traded SS contract settled at 14,545 yuan/mt. On the spot market side, dragged by the weaker SS futures, sentiment in the spot stainless steel market softened further. Traders increasingly offered discounts to sell, and quotes were broadly lowered. However, amid the off-season for consumption and strong wait-and-see sentiment among market entities, overall transactions stayed persistently weak. The most-traded SS futures contract. At 10:15 a.m., SS2608 was quoted at 14,580 yuan/mt, up 30 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, spot premiums for 304/2B were in the 390-940 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; for cold-rolled 304/2B coil (raw edge), the Wuxi average fell by 50 yuan/mt and the Foshan average fell by 50 yuan/mt; the price for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, the Wuxi quote was flat; cold-rolled 430/2B coil prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were flat. This week, stainless steel futures and spot prices consolidated in the doldrums. Ex-China macro headwinds, combined with industry sentiment disruptions, fueled rising market pessimism, and off-season fundamentals were fully exposed. Overall, the market exhibited macro pressure on futures, weakening off-season demand, and traders cutting prices to reduce inventories...

15 hours ago

Jul 1, 2026 15:03

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Macro headwinds, SS futures prices pulled back, and stainless steel spot trading weakened.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Prices Pull Back on Macro Headwinds, Stainless Steel Spot Transactions Weaken According to SMM on July 1, SS futures moved in a downward, consolidating trend. Pressured by rising expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes and the continued decline in SHFE nickel, SS futures fell in tandem. By the midday close, the most-traded SS contract had settled at 14,590 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the generally cautious market sentiment was driven by both the weakness in SS futures and the disturbance from Indonesian policies. Although traders showed a strong willingness to sell, the sluggish transaction scenario remained unchanged. The most-traded SS futures contract: At 10:15 AM, SS2608 was quoted at 14,550 yuan/mt, up 10 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi stood in the range of 470-970 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; the average prices for cold-rolled unedged 304/2B coil were flat in both Wuxi and Foshan; the price for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; quotations for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi were also flat; and the average prices for cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan were flat. This week, stainless steel futures and spot prices were in the doldrums. Macro headwinds outside China, coupled with industrial sentiment disturbance, intensified market pessimism, fully highlighting the off-season fundamentals. The overall picture showed that macro factors suppressed the futures, off-season demand weakened, traders cut prices to reduce inventory, supply contraction provided some support to inventory levels, and steel mill profits shrank. Futures were dragged lower by monetary policies and raw material rumors. Spots maintained resilience relying on steel mills holding prices firm, but terminal transactions were sluggish, and the overall market …

Jul 1, 2026 15:03

Jun 30, 2026 17:28

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Stainless steel futures prices hold up well, and restocking of spot stainless steel at low prices increases.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Hold Up Well, Low-Price Restocking of Stainless Steel Spot Cargoes Increases According to SMM on June 30, SS futures consolidated with an upward bias. Although the night session was weak, futures drifted higher after the daytime session opened. By the close, the most-traded SS futures contract settled at 14,740 yuan/mt. In the spot market, prices dipped in early trading due to weakness in the night session, but as SS futures continued to strengthen during the daytime session, transactions recovered somewhat, and low-price restocking demand increased. SS Futures: The most-traded contract. At 10:15 AM, SS2608 was at 14,540 yuan/mt, down 175 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in the Wuxi area were in the 480-980 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; for cold-rolled 304/2B coil with raw edges, the average price was flat in Wuxi and flat in Foshan; the price for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in the Wuxi area was flat; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, the quoted price in Wuxi was flat; cold-rolled 430/2B coil prices were flat in both Wuxi and Foshan. Stainless steel futures and spot markets were in the doldrums this week. Macro headwinds from outside China, coupled with sentiment disturbances in the industry, led to heightened market pessimism, fully highlighting off-season fundamentals. The overall pattern was one of macro pressures weighing on futures, weakening off-season demand, traders cutting prices to reduce inventory, supply tightening helping to support inventory levels, and shrinking steel mill profits. Futures were dragged lower by monetary policy and raw material rumors, while spot prices showed resilience, supported by steel mills holding prices firm; however, end-user transactions were sluggish, and the overall market sentiment was bearish. On the futures side, this week's price movements were driven by macro headwinds. The de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict...

Jun 30, 2026 17:28