[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Move Sideways, with Cost Support Keeping Spot Stainless Steel Stable

Published: Apr 1, 2026 15:17
[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Moved Sideways, with Cost Support Keeping Spot Stainless Steel Largely Stable SMM News on April 1: SS futures fluctuated. Stainless steel futures rose first and then fell, with a relatively small intraday change, closing at 14,180 yuan/mt by the midday close. In the spot market, SS futures fluctuated, while prices of various furnace charge materials remained relatively firm, supporting stainless steel prices. Market quotations were largely stable, with limited room to rise or fall. Although downstream end-users mainly made just-in-time procurement, current market inventory pressure was not high, and prices were still expected to remain relatively stable in the short term. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,275 yuan/mt, up 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 195-395 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi was unchanged; for cold-rolled burr-edge 304/2B coils, the average prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were stable; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were unchanged; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi were quoted flat; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan remained stable. The stainless steel market has now entered the traditional peak consumption season. Transactions from downstream end-users remained steady, but market sentiment turned cautious. End-user enterprises lacked willingness to stockpile, with procurement mainly driven by restocking based on demand, and the brisk trading pattern typically seen in the peak season had yet to emerge. Overall demand remained steady and neutral. Futures side, repeated disruptions from the Iran geopolitical conflict made it difficult for the short-term impact on SS futures to be fully eliminated; however, recently...

 

SMM reported on April 1 that SS futures moved sideways. Stainless steel futures rose first and then fell, with a relatively small intraday change, closing at 14,180 yuan/mt as of the midday close. Spot market, SS futures moved sideways, while prices of various furnace charge materials remained relatively firm, supporting stainless steel prices. Market quotations were largely stable, with limited room to rise or fall. Although downstream end-users mainly made just-in-time procurement, current market inventory pressure was not high, and prices were still expected to remain largely stable in the short term.

The most-traded SS futures contract moved sideways. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,275 yuan/mt, up 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 195-395 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi was flat; for cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils, the average prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were stable; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were flat; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi were quoted flat; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were stable.

The stainless steel market has now entered the traditional peak consumption season. Transactions among downstream end-users remained steady, but market sentiment turned cautious. End-user enterprises lacked willingness to stockpile, and procurement was mainly driven by restocking based on demand. The brisk trading pattern typically seen in the peak season has not emerged, and overall demand remained steady and neutral. Futures, repeated disruptions from the Iran geopolitical conflict made its short-term impact on SS futures difficult to fully eliminate. However, supported by expectations that the conflict may ease, coupled with stimulus from news related to Indonesian export tariffs and windfall taxes on nickel products, SS futures held up well this week. Still, they have not broken out of the sideways range formed earlier, and the market lacks a clear breakout direction. Supply and inventory side, stainless steel mills still maintained relatively high production schedules in the short term, and the high supply pattern remained unchanged. Coupled with relatively high recent arrivals, although downstream transactions remained steady, end-users lacked willingness to stockpile, and stainless steel social inventory posted another slight inventory buildup this week. Market inventory digestion pressure remained relatively high, which both constrained the market to some extent and tested the pace of steel mill shipments. Cost side, recent gains in SHFE nickel prices pushed up quotations for high-grade NPI, but stainless steel mills themselves faced significant cost pressure, and the economic advantage of stainless steel scrap became more prominent. Steel mills showed low acceptance of high-priced NPI and maintained an overall cautious procurement stance. Therefore, stainless steel production costs remained largely stable overall, with no significant fluctuations. Overall, the core contradiction in the stainless steel market this week lay in the mismatch among high supply, elevated inventory, and steady demand. Although the cost side provided some support, it was difficult to offer sufficient momentum to drive finished steel prices higher. In addition, macro news uncertainty remained strong, and overall market sentiment stayed cautious. Stainless steel prices are expected to continue to move sideways in the short term.

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 to learn 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
Vietnam Imposes 27.83% Temporary Tariff on Certain Chinese Hot-Rolled Steel Products
6 hours ago
Vietnam Imposes 27.83% Temporary Tariff on Certain Chinese Hot-Rolled Steel Products
Read More
Vietnam Imposes 27.83% Temporary Tariff on Certain Chinese Hot-Rolled Steel Products
Vietnam Imposes 27.83% Temporary Tariff on Certain Chinese Hot-Rolled Steel Products
On April 2, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision No. 612/QD-BCT, imposing a temporary anti-circumvention tariff of up to 27.83% on certain hot-rolled steel products from China. The measure applies to specific flat-rolled steel products (alloy or non-alloy), with thicknesses of 1.2–25.4mm and widths between 1,880mm and 2,300mm, that have not been further processed beyond hot rolling.
6 hours ago
Risks in the Ferrous Metals Sector Began to Accumulate [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report]
6 hours ago
Risks in the Ferrous Metals Sector Began to Accumulate [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report]
Read More
Risks in the Ferrous Metals Sector Began to Accumulate [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report]
Risks in the Ferrous Metals Sector Began to Accumulate [SMM Steel Industry Chain Weekly Report]
This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums. The main logic during the week remained weakening cost support. On Tuesday, Iran proposed charging transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump made conciliatory remarks, saying that “even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, he would still be willing to end military action against Iran.” Market expectations for tighter crude oil supply weakened, and declines in the energy sector dragged down the coal sector, weakening the cost-side logic. During the week, inventories of the five major steel products continued to decline, but apparent demand remained at a low level for the same period in previous years, providing limited fundamental-driven momentum to futures. In the spot market, purchasing interest was average, mainly focused on restocking at low prices. Spot prices were relatively firm, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......
6 hours ago
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (April 3)
6 hours ago
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (April 3)
Read More
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (April 3)
MMi Daily Iron Ore Report (April 3)
Today, the DCE iron ore fluctuated in the doldrums, with the most-traded contract I2605 eventually closing at 799.5 yuan/mt, down 0.50% from the previous trading session. Spot prices fell by about 2-5 yuan from the previous trading day. Traders were moderately active in offering quotes, while steel mills mainly restocked to meet rigid demand; as of now, spot market transactions were mediocre.
6 hours ago
Register to Continue Reading
Gain access to the latest insights in metals and new energy
Already have an account?sign in here