SMM Nickel Flash: NPI Market Sentiment Weakens, Futures Decline Continues

Italy's steel market faces persistent downstream weakness, but the EU's new safeguard measures taking effect July 1, featuring significantly tighter import quotas and doubled out-of-quota duties, compounded by CBAM and antidumping constraints, are expected to sharply curtail non-EU procurement options, strengthen EU mills' bargaining power, and drive a price rebound during summer as inventories draw down. In the stainless steel segment, service center volumes collapsed 15–20% MoM in May as artificial price supports faded, with Assofermet seeing no near-term recovery signals.

Tang Eng Iron Works distributed approximately 159,000 tons of stainless steel products in 2025, down 13.1% YoY and falling short of its 216,000-ton budget target. Cold-rolled and hot-rolled output declined 14.9% YoY to around 159,000 tons, despite raw steel production rising 6.3% to 31,285 tons. The company attributed the declines to US tariffs, exchange rate fluctuations, geopolitical tensions, and oversupply from cheap Chinese steel exports. To improve performance, Tang Eng plans to stabilize core business profits, leverage land assets for non-operating income, and introduce sustainability programs tied to its core operations.

Mexico's Ministry of Economy issued the final ruling of its second anti-dumping sunset review on June 8, 2026, extending duties on stainless steel sinks imported from China with a unit weight of 8 kg or less (tariff code 7324.10.01) for a further five years, effective from May 9, 2025. Taizhou Luqiao Jixiang Kitchenware Co., Ltd. faces a specific duty of US$4.14/net kg, while all other Chinese producers and exporters are subject to US$5.40/net kg.