Price trend

According to SunSirs price monitoring, stainless steel prices fell slightly last week. As of August 22, the average daily price of 304/2B stainless steel flat sheet (1.0*1219*2438mm (tolerance 0.91") was 12,114.29 RMB/ton, down 0.7% from the beginning of the week and down 5.09% year-on-year.

According to the price difference analysis tool of SunSirs, the prices of nickel and stainless steel are basically similar, and both have fallen slightly recently.

Analysis review

Last week, stainless steel inventories totaled 1.092 million tons, up 1.29% from last week’s previous week, with both cold rolled and hot rolled inventories increasing.

Raw materials: The nickel ore market has been relatively quiet recently, with prices remaining largely stable. In the Philippines, 1.3% of nickel ore resources were traded on FOB 32 basis in September. 1.3% nickel ore was available for trade on a CIF 42 basis to Indonesia, a month-on-month increase. The domestic benchmark price for Indonesian nickel ore for August (Phase I) was expected to increase by $0.2-0.3, with the mainstream domestic trade premium remaining at +24. Mainstream ferronickel quotes have risen to 940-950 RMB/nickel (bottom, tax included), pending finalization of transactions. Prices were stable but slightly stronger. Iron mills were operating at reduced capacity due to losses, while steel mills were generally adopting a wait-and-see approach to raw material procurement. Steel mills' August tender prices were generally in line with market expectations. Ferrochrome mills were holding prices high, supported by chrome ore costs, and ferrochrome prices are expected to remain stable and strong.

Supply and Demand: Domestic mainstream stainless steel mills were projected to produce 3.2302 million tons of crude steel in July, a month-on-month decrease of 61,400 tons, or 1.87%, and a year-on-year decrease of 2.36%. In August, domestic stainless steel mills were projected to produce 3.3041 million tons of crude steel, a month-on-month increase of 2.29% and a year-on-year decrease of 1.64%. Market sentiment has weakened recently, with spot prices remaining stable. Traders were reluctant to ship, and downstream companies were primarily purchasing based on just-in-time needs, resulting in relatively modest transaction volumes.

Market outlook

Steel mills have recently seen overall profit improvements, strengthening their motivation to increase production. Crude steel output is expected to increase in August, but this presented some pressure on the supply side. Weak end-user demand persisted, with weak demand in traditional downstream sectors and an overall decline in growth expected in emerging downstream sectors. Purchases were primarily driven by essential needs to replenish inventory, increasing bargaining power for traders but still hindering volume growth. Stainless steel inventory levels remained slow to liquidate, with warehouse receipts increasing. Overall, recent cost support remained, but the fundamentals were still constrained by weak spot demand, and the stainless steel market price will mainly fluctuate in the short term.

If you have any inquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.