Spot Stainless Steel Trading is Slack last Week

SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (SMM) - Spot prices of #304 stainless steel were stable with occasional falls last week. On the supply side, a stainless steel mill in east China shipped a large number of goods to the market, and the shipment was suspended in the second half of the week. On the demand side, stainless steel mills received fewer new orders, and most of the hot-rolled coil orders were contributed by the rigid demand. The prices of high-grade NPI remained flat from two weeks ago. The demand from the stainless steel sector picked up slightly, which encouraged the NPI suppliers to ship. In addition, a small amount of nickel ore might have been traded at high prices, which indicated that the ore costs were high and firm. Some large stainless steel mills have also begun to make inquiries and restock. The short-term NPI prices will stay stable. High-carbon ferrochrome prices were also flat from the previous week. Previously, ferrochrome prices continued apace driven by the market sentiment. But the consumption did not boom as expected, thus the downstream companies were cautious in buying and were less willing to accept the high ferrochrome prices. The market still has a certain confidence in the future ferrochrome prices owing to the expected high production scheduling of stainless steel mills and the cost support. It is expected that the short-term ferrochrome prices will remain stable. To sum up, the stainless steel market did not improve as expected, and it will take some time for the demand to be released. In addition, the cost support was firm. SMM believes that the prices of stainless steel will run steadily with some downward potential amid the high inventory this week.