SunSirs: Stainless Steel Stocks Rose Slightly in May

According to the price monitoring of SunSirs, stainless steel prices rose first and then fell in May. As of the end of May, the spot price of stainless steel was 122.7.14 RMB/ton, up 1.18% from 12064.29 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month, and down 7.49% year-on-year.

Annual price comparison chart of stainless steel

The annual price comparison chart of stainless steel in Sino-Trade in the past five years shows that stainless steel prices mostly fell in June.

Supply and demand

On the raw material side, the main mining areas in the Philippines and Indonesia are gradually getting out of the rainy season. The Philippine ore price is expected to loosen, but under the premise of hot import demand in Indonesia, there is still some support for nickel ore. At present, the price of the ore section may stabilize and run weakly. Nickel iron quotations are currently continuing to adjust. At this stage, nickel iron is mainly adjusted by profit repair. The profit of low-grade nickel ore production still exists, and it may continue to adjust in the future.

On the supply side, domestic stainless steel crude steel production in May was 3.4899 million tons, a month-on-month decrease of 0.36% and a year-on-year increase of 5.76%. Due to production losses, there have been frequent rumors of production cuts at stainless steel mills recently. For example, S Steel Plant in East China plans to stop production for 10-15 days for maintenance and is expected to affect 304 production by 20,000-30,000 tons. However, the market has limited reaction to the news of production cuts. This is because some steel mills have reduced production of 304 but switched to 200 series, and the overall supply of stainless steel is still high.

On the demand side, the second quarter is the traditional off-season for stainless steel consumption. The real estate market, which is closely related to stainless steel demand, has recovered slowly. In April, the year-on-year development investment completion amount, year-on-year completion area and first-tier housing prices weakened. In addition, the export of stainless steel coils and their products faces trade barriers such as tariffs and anti-dumping, as well as obstacles such as new export regulations. The overall demand for stainless steel is expected to have limited room for improvement.

Imports and exports: In April 2025, China's stainless steel exports were 447,800 tons, a decrease of 22,800 tons from the previous month, a decrease of 4.85%; an increase of 55,200 tons from the previous year, an increase of 14.05%. China's stainless steel imports were 142,100 tons, up 13,200 tons from the previous month, an increase of 10.26%; down 51,900 tons from the previous year, a decrease of 26.76%.

Stainless steel inventory

Stainless steel inventory rose slightly in May. By the end of the month, the total stainless steel inventory was 111.77 tons, up 0.42% from the beginning of the month.

In summary: the recent news of production cuts at some steel mills and the rebound in nickel iron prices have brought some support to stainless steel prices, but demand has not improved, downstream willingness to accept goods is insufficient, and slow inventory digestion still suppresses prices. In the short term, stainless steel prices lack obvious unilateral driving force. It is expected that stainless steel prices will be mainly weak and stable in the short term.

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