On April 17, SS futures prices remained steady. Although there was an intention to explore price increases, the market was flooded with low-priced sources due to futures market pricing, making it difficult to achieve high-priced transactions. Meanwhile, the price of high-grade NPI continued to decline, and the price of high-carbon ferrochrome also stopped rising and began to pull back, which weakened the cost support for stainless steel.
In the futures market, the most-traded contract 2506 fluctuated. At 10:30 AM, SS2506 was quoted at 12,890 yuan/mt, up 65 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B in Wuxi ranged from 380-580 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi and Foshan was quoted at 8,300 yuan/mt; the cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coil averaged 13,200 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 13,225 yuan/mt in Foshan; the cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was 23,650 yuan/mt, while in Foshan it was 23,800 yuan/mt; the hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was quoted at 22,900 yuan/mt in both regions; the cold-rolled 430/2B coil in Wuxi and Foshan was 7,500 yuan/mt.
Currently, market expectations for macro policies remain unclear. Although the futures market experienced a certain degree of rebound this week, and spot prices have largely stabilized, the purchasing intention of downstream end-users remains very weak, with most maintaining a cautious wait-and-see attitude. Based on this, it is expected that stainless steel prices will remain relatively stable in the short term.
