Stainless steel spot quotations dropped amid lower raw material prices

SHANGHAI, Apr 6 (SMM) – Early last week, the 304 stainless steel spot market was active, and the price increased slightly by 50-100 yuan/mt.

Trading weakened towards the weekend, and the falling raw material prices subtly dragged down the spot quotations. As of Friday April 2, 304 cold rolled coil was quoted at 15,300-15,700 yuan/mt, the quotation of 304 hot rolled coil at 15,400-15,500 yuan/mt. Spot supply is currently tight, which supports the price. It is expected that the stainless steel spot price will remain stable at a low level.

The 201 cold rolled coil was quoted at 8,600-8,700 yuan/mt last week. There was no major fluctuation in market transactions, and the futures prices of steel mills remained stable overall.

The price of 430 series declined last week, and the average price fell by 100 yuan/mt to 10,300-10,500 yuan/mt. The increase in inventories and the downward guidance price of steel mills have weighed on market prices.

Although the price of 304 cold-rolled products remained stable last week, due to the rising price of raw material inventories, the loss of stainless steel expanded to 900 yuan/mt in the plants with NPI facilities.

The prices of high-grade NPI fell last week, while the price of stainless steel scrap increased steadily due to the lack of supply.

The cost effectiveness of high-grade NPI has increased. The average discount of high-grade NPI expanded from 37 yuan/mtu to 55 yuan/mtu on the week against the stainless steel scrap.