SMM August 20 News,
On August 20, the SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI average price was 927.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), up 0.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day. The high-grade NPI market sentiment factor was 2.28, down 0.01 MoM. Supply side, recently, there has been a shortage of 8-11% grade high-grade NPI in the domestic market, while higher-grade supplies are abundant, leading to higher domestic prices. Demand side, macro sentiment pulled back, and downstream enterprises are still in the inventory digestion phase, with most downstream stainless steel mills showing low acceptance of high prices. Overall, the recent price center of the high-grade NPI market remains high, but procurement demand from downstream enterprises has yet to materialize.
