[Market Activity Remains Low, Post-Holiday GO Silicon Steel Prices Expected to Remain in the Doldrums] Futures side, HRC futures fluctuated downward this week, exerting some downward pressure on the cost side of silicon steel, with some traders adopting a cautious wait-and-see approach. Demand side, affected by the approaching Chinese New Year holiday, downstream enterprises gradually suspended operations for the holiday, leading to a significant contraction in procurement demand. Market transactions were largely stagnant in the latter part of the week, with only minimal just-in-time procurement sustaining market activity.

The HRC price edged up intraday, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,228, up 0.06%. In the spot market, national mainstream city HRC offers were mostly stable with some increases, cold-rolled and coated sheets prices held steady, and export prices remained stable. Data-wise, hanghai HRC inventory was 347,100 mt this week, up 14,300 mt WoW (a 4.30% increase); the Gregorian calendar YoY decline was 10.95%, while the lunar calendar YoY increase was 17.94%. Mainstream city inventories began to accumulate gradually. Short-term, market transactions gradually stalled, and HRC prices were expected to stabilize in the latter half of the week; post-holiday inventory buildup will be monitored.

[SS Futures Daily Review] Indonesian Nickel Ore News Boosts SS Back Above 14,000 Yuan/mt, Stainless Steel Spot Market Remains Stable During Holiday SMM, February 11 — SS futures showed a strong upward trend. Last night, the 2026 Indonesian nickel ore approval quota was officially announced, driving SHFE nickel and stainless steel futures higher; during the day, SS futures once again climbed above 14,000 yuan/mt, finally closing at 14,145 yuan/mt. On the spot market side, despite the strong performance of SS futures, most spot trading was suspended as traders and downstream enterprises were largely on holiday, resulting in minimal actual transactions and stable prices. The most-traded SS futures contract strengthened and probed higher. At 10:30 am, SS2604 was quoted at 14,010 yuan/mt, up 160 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 160-360 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for 201/2B cold-rolled coil in Wuxi was reported at 8,500 yuan/mt; the average price for 304/2B cold-rolled mill-edge coil was 14,100 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 14,050 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price for 316L/2B cold-rolled coil in Wuxi was 26,600 yuan/mt, and 26,600 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price for 316L/NO.1 hot-rolled coil in Wuxi was reported at 25,750 yuan/mt; the price for 430/2B cold-rolled coil was 7,800 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. This week, repeated fluctuations in macro sentiment, combined with a significant pullback in precious metals prices, dragged down nonferrous metals futures overall, with stainless steel futures also...

During the day, HRC prices trended weaker, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,220 at the end of the session, down 0.65%. In the spot market, national mainstream city HRC offers fell 10 yuan/mt, while cold-rolled and galvanized prices held steady, and export prices remained stable. In the short term, as this week is the last working week before the Chinese New Year, market trading activity continues to cool. Traders and downstream users started taking holidays gradually from today, with many traders suspending quotes. HRC and cold-rolled prices are expected to stabilize during the latter half of this week.

HRC prices trended weakly intraday, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,239, down 0.55%. In the spot market, most HRC spot offers held steady or fell by 10 yuan, while spot cold-rolled coil offers remained in the doldrums. Trading performance was weak, with sluggish inquiry activity in the market. In the short term, as this week is the last working week before the Chinese New Year, trading across regions is gradually halting. Coupled with strong risk-averse sentiment ahead of the holiday, sheets & plates prices are expected to fluctuate within a narrow range before the holiday, with support for the most-traded HRC contract watched at 3,215.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Fluctuate Rangebound Ahead of Chinese New Year Holiday, Most Stainless Steel Traders on Holiday SMM, February 9: SS futures showed a relatively strong and rangebound fluctuation pattern. The phased impact from the macro perspective gradually faded, and with the approaching Chinese New Year holiday in China, market activity declined. SS futures operated on a relatively stable tone, finally closing at 13,735 yuan/mt. In the spot market, most traders have entered the holiday period, and those not yet on holiday are mostly in the closing stage. A small number of transactions mainly focused on post-holiday futures orders, with prices overall basically stable. The most-traded SS futures contract was in the doldrums. At 10:30 a.m., SS2603 was quoted at 13,770 yuan/mt, up 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 400-600 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was reported at 8,500 yuan/mt; the average price of cold-rolled mill-edge 304/2B coil was 14,100 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 14,050 yuan/mt in Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was 26,600 yuan/mt, and in Foshan 26,600 yuan/mt; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was quoted at 25,750 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan was 7,800 yuan/mt. This week, repeated fluctuations in macro sentiment combined with a significant pullback in precious metal prices dragged down the overall nonferrous metals futures, and stainless steel futures also showed wild swings in sync. At the beginning of the week, they once hit the limit down, then gradually staged a restorative rebound, …