Posted on 07 Mar 2024
Chinese prices of 304-grade stainless steel took a downside turn during February 27-March 5, primarily following the weakening futures prices of stainless steel in China, market sources shared. Also, the sluggish demand from downstream for these stainless steel products was still a drag on their spot prices.
The spot price of 304/2B 2mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi, a major stainless trading hub in East China's Jiangsu, slid to Yuan 14,600/tonne ($2,028/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT on March 5, down by Yuan 150/t on week, Mysteel's assessment showed.
Meanwhile, the spot price of 304/No.1 5mm stainless hot-rolled coil in Wuxi lost a larger Yuan 300/t on week to reach Yuan 13,450/t in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT on March 5.
The bearish sentiment among many stainless steel traders in China's major trading markets intensified recently after they saw stainless futures on a downtrend, a market source in Shanghai observed. The traders then clipped their offering prices for 304-grade stainless steel in the past few days.
On March 5, the most-traded stainless contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for May delivery closed the daytime trading session lower at Yuan 13,775/t, falling by Yuan 270/t from the settlement price on February 27.
Meanwhile, the persistent sluggishness in downstream consumption of 304 stainless steel also led traders to cut their prices for the grade to facilitate more sales, the source added.
Nevertheless, the price cuts failed to stimulate downstream to increase their buying of 304 stainless steel, and the overall trading was still subdued, according to her.
For the 304 stainless prices in the remainder of March, the downtrend may extend due to the slow recovery in stainless demand and stainless mills' higher production, she projected.
This month, the 43 stainless steelmakers in China under Mysteel's monitoring are likely to produce 1.59 million tonnes of 300-series stainless steel, with the volume growing by a sizeable 18.9% compared to February.
Source:Mysteel Global
