Price trend:

According to price monitoring by SunSirs, stainless steel prices rose slightly last week. As of December 12th, the average daily price of 304/2B stainless steel sheets (1.0*1219*2438, tolerance 0.91) was 11,525 RMB/ton, a 0.22% increase from the beginning of the week and a 5.14% decrease year-on-year.

According to the price difference analysis tool from SunSirs, the price trends of nickel and stainless steel are similar, with both showing an overall trend of rising first and then falling recently.

Market Analysis

Last week, total stainless steel inventory amounted to 1.0635 million tons, a decrease of 1.6% compared to the previous week, with both cold-rolled and hot-rolled steel inventories declining.

Raw materials: The Indonesian government issued new regulations on December 1st, imposing heavy fines on mining companies operating illegally outside of forest concession areas, with fines reaching up to 6.5 billion Indonesian rupiah (approximately $390,000) per hectare. The trading price of ferronickel had shifted upwards, indicating stronger support from raw material costs.

Supply and demand: In November, the estimated crude steel production of 43 domestic stainless steel plants was 3.4966 million tons, while the planned production for December is 3.2373 million tons, a decrease of 7.42% month-on-month and 5.96% year-on-year. In terms of demand, market activity remained weak, and social inventories of stainless steel were still being depleted slowly.

Market Outlook

Ferronickel prices rebounded slightly, providing marginal support to the bottom-line costs of stainless steel. However, given weak demand and slow inventory depletion, the potential for further price increases in the short term is limited. Therefore, stainless steel prices are expected to remain at their low levels in the short term.

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