[NPI Daily Review] The High-Grade NPI Market Came Under Brief Pressure; the Cost-Support Rationale Remained Unchanged

Published: Mar 10, 2026 12:00

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[SMM Daily Review: The High-Grade NPI Market Was Briefly Under Pressure, While the Cost-Support Logic Remained Unchanged] News on March 10: SMM’s upstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 2.9, up 0.02 MoM, while the downstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 1.4, up 0.03 MoM.

SMM March 10 News,

March 10 News: The SMM high-grade NPI market sentiment factor was 2.22, up 0.02 MoM; the high-grade NPI upstream sentiment factor was 2.89, down 0.01 MoM; and the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment factor was 1.56, up 0.06 MoM. Supply side, as mainstream steel mills released tender prices, some upstream players shipped cargoes on fears of price declines, but most smelters still maintained their previous quotations. Demand side, a large number of steel mills inquired in line with the tender prices, and there were a small number of low-priced deals in the market, pulling down the center. Overall, the market was briefly under pressure, but cost support did not weaken significantly.

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