[SMM Sheets & Plates Daily Review] Prices Rose Slightly Today, Hot-Rolled Coil Inventory Continued Destocking

Published: Dec 18, 2025 17:49

Save

The most-traded hot-rolled coil futures contract held up well during the day, closing at 3,277 with a gain of 1.05%. In the spot market, hot-rolled coil prices rose slightly, while cold-rolled coil prices remained stable.

This week, SMM released the supply-demand balance data for hot-rolled coil. Affected by steel mill maintenance, production further declined to relatively low levels compared with the same period in previous years. SMM statistics showed that social inventory of hot-rolled coil across 86 warehouses nationwide (large sample) stood at 3.9955 million mt, down 122,200 mt or 2.97% WoW, and up 32.36% compared with the same period last year in the Gregorian calendar. National social inventory continued destocking this week. By region, east China, central China, and northeast China saw larger declines, with no significant supply-demand imbalance observed for hot-rolled coil in the near term.

In the short term, hot-rolled coil prices are expected to continue moving sideways. Against the backdrop of weak demand, upward price pressure is increasing, with resistance noted at 3,300-3,340.

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

18 hours ago

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.

18 hours ago

19 hours ago

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......

19 hours ago

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.

19 hours ago