Latest Update in the China Stainless Steel Market

SMM’s research showed that domestic operating rates of blast furnace dropped by 1.4% to 85.8% over last week, and declined by 1.1% from last month. As the off-season performance is more and more obvious, steel mills profits have been squeezed continuously. According to SMM, majority steel mills are suffering thin profits based on iron ore price of 222USD/mt.

SHFE nonferrous metals broadly fell on Thursday June 17 as global markets reacted to the Federal Reserve's signal that rate hikes will come sooner than expected.

Social inventories of primary aluminium ingots across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, decreased 29,000 mt from last Thursday to 890,000 mt as of June 17.

SMM data showed that aluminium billet stocks across the five major consumption areas — Foshan, Wuxi, Huzhou, Changzhou and Nanchang — in China increased 14% or 12,400 mt from a week ago to 100,700 mt as of Thursday June 17.

SMM data showed that HRC stocks across social warehouses and steel makers rose 118,200 mt or 3.27% on the week, but down 4.26% than a year ago, to 3.73 million mt in the week ended June 17.

Inventories of rebar across Chinese steelmakers and social warehouses stood at 10.66 million mt as of June 17, up 3.8% from a week ago. Stocks are up 8.7% from a year earlier.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on June 17, 2021

The average weighted operating rate of Chinese aluminium foil producers was 87.08% in May, down 1.21 percentage points month on month, but up 3.22 percentage points year on year.