Latest Update in the SMM Finished Steel Market

Iron ore futures stabilized and rebounded today, holding up well throughout the session. The most-traded contract I2601 closed at 774 yuan, up 1.38% slightly from the previous working day.

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in West Liaoning May Remain in the Doldrums] Iron ore concentrate prices in west Liaoning edged down by 10 yuan, with the current ex-factory price for Fe66% iron ore concentrates on a wet basis, excluding taxes, at 745–750 yuan/mt. Recent inspections in the area have been relatively frequent, impacting production at some mines and beneficiation plants, leading to tight supply of local iron ore concentrates.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Broke Below 12,500 yuan/mt, Weak Spot Stainless Steel Transactions Hit Market Confidence] SMM November 12 - SS futures showed a further downward pullback. Driven by further declines in SHFE nickel and amid weak stainless steel fundamentals, SS futures continued to follow the downtrend today, breaking below 12,500 yuan/mt again, with the intraday low reaching 12,460 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the weakness in futures again dragged down spot prices. Additionally, stainless steel transactions remained sluggish recently, with traders holding pessimistic expectations for the year-end market and showing a mentality of selling off goods for cash collection. Meanwhile, prices of high-grade NPI, high-carbon ferrochrome, and stainless steel scrap have all been in the doldrums recently, pulling down the cost center of stainless steel, and daily offers saw another slight decrease. The most-traded SS futures contract pulled back. At 10:30 a.m., SS2601 was quoted at 12,485 yuan/mt, down 75 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 333-685 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,050 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled mill edge 304/2B coil was 12,825 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 12,850 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price of cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was 24,500 yuan/mt, and 24,550 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price of hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was 23,800 yuan/mt; the price of cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan was 7,600 yuan...

► Evolution and Development Trends in Multimodal Large Model Technology ► Development Logic of the Embodied AI Industry and the Yushu Development Model ► Implementation Practices of Robot Application Scenarios ► Ultra-Integrated Dexterous Hand Control Technology: In-Depth Exploration from Ecosystem Collaboration to Industrial Implementation ► Local Practice of the "Smart Robotics" Seed Project in Zhenhai Science and Technology Innovation Zone ► Technological Innovation and Industrial Development Trends in Medical Robotics ► Key Factors for Commercial Success of Humanoid Robots ► Development Paths and Trends of Lead Screws for Humanoid Robots ► Embodied AI Industry and Finance Roundtable Interview ► Industry Trends and Capital Market Outlook for Humanoid Robots ► Embodied AI Industry and Finance Roundtable Interview

Vale (NYSE:VALE) is setting its sights on India as the next big growth story in steel. CEO Gustavo Pimenta told Reuters that while China's steel production has flattened at around 1 billion metric tons a year, India's demand is just getting started and Vale wants to be ready.

DCE iron ore futures fluctuated rangebound today. The most-traded contract I2601 closed at 763 yuan/mt, up 0.2% from the previous trading day. Spot cargo prices at ports were basically flat compared to the previous trading day,

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review: SS Futures Continue to Bottom Out, Limited Decline in Stainless Steel Spot Prices] SMM November 11 - SS futures showed a downward trend. With SHFE nickel and ferrous metals declining in sync, and stainless steel fundamentals remaining weak, SS futures weakened again, approaching 12,500 yuan/mt near the close. In the spot market, influenced by the weakness in SS futures, market sentiment turned bearish again, with some traders slightly lowering their offers. However, stainless steel prices are already at relatively low levels, and traders' previous purchase costs were high, limiting the price decline. The most-traded SS contract pulled back. At 10:30 a.m., SS2601 was quoted at 12,560 yuan/mt, down 5 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B was in the range of 310-610 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 8,050 yuan/mt; the average price for cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coil was 12,850 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil was 24,550 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 24,600 yuan/mt in Foshan; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was quoted at 23,800 yuan/mt in Wuxi; cold-rolled 430/2B coil was 7,600 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. Officially leaving behind the "September-October peak season," a traditional consumption off-season, and entering the year-end off-season. Downstream end-user confidence, already insufficient, was further impacted by the recent continuous decline in SS futures...

As of November 11, the operating rate of 50 steel mills specializing in construction materials nationwide stood at 36.4%, up 0.68% WoW; the capacity utilization rate was 38.31%, increasing 0.3% WoW; the daily average production of construction materials reached 85,300 mt, rising 700 mt WoW.

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief: Iron Ore Concentrate Prices in Tangshan May Remain in the Doldrums] At the beginning of the week, the domestic iron ore market in Tangshan remained generally stable. The current delivery-to-factory price, tax included, for Fe66% iron ore concentrates on a dry basis is 1,005-1,010 yuan/mt. Producers showed a clear wait-and-see attitude at the start of the week. However, constrained by tight local and surrounding resources and high costs, producers still face significant difficulties in purchasing. With low inventory and high costs, there is limited motivation to sell, and mines and beneficiation plants overall have a relatively strong desire to hold prices firm. Steel mills continue to face substantial profit pressure, mostly purchasing as needed, and overall have a relatively strong desire to drive down prices.

According to the SMM survey, the impact from maintenance on construction steel increased during this period (11.8-11.14), mainly due to multiple steel mills in east China conducting maintenance or halting production on their rebar rolling lines. The impact from maintenance on construction steel was 1.3546 million mt, up 58,300 mt WoW.