SMM Steel Morning Brief: HRC Most-Traded Contract Narrowly Fluctuates; East China Inventory Declines Further Ahead of Chinese New Year

[SMM Steel Morning Brief: Narrow Rangebound Fluctuation in HRC Most-Traded Contract Today, Inventory in East China's Mainstream Market Continues to Decline]

Yesterday, the most-traded HRC contract fluctuated downward, closing at 3,468 in the afternoon, down slightly by 0.26%.

Spot market: As the Chinese New Year approaches, trading volume in the market further declined.

News: The HRC inventory data for Zhangjiagang was released today. This week, Zhangjiagang's HRC inventory stood at 403,000 mt, down 13,000 mt WoW (-3.13%). The YoY decline based on the Gregorian calendar was 12.39%, while the YoY decline based on the lunar calendar was 16.04%. In the final week before the holiday, Zhangjiagang's inventory continued to decrease.

Looking ahead, as the market gradually enters the holiday period, spot market transactions are cooling down. However, the current inventory buildup pace is significantly slower than the same period in previous years, indicating low fundamental risks. It is expected that HRC prices will fluctuate within a range and stabilize before the holiday, with limited room for further movement.