[SMM Daily Hot-Rolled Coil Trading] On March 25, the total daily trading volume of hot-rolled coil at SMM sample enterprises in four cities (Shanghai, Lecong, Tianjin, and Ningbo) was 14,130 mt, down 540 mt day on day, or 3.7%, up 3.97% YoY on a calendar basis, and down 10.29% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

Back to HRC fundamentals, impact from maintenance for hot-rolled products was 80,600 mt this week, down 234,300 mt WoW; impact from maintenance for hot-rolled products next week is expected at 9.34 mt, an increase of 12,800 mt from this week. Inventory-wise, destocking continued in Ningbo, Lecong, and Tangshan, while inventories in Shanghai and Zhangjiagang edged up slightly. Overall inventory was still expected to remain in a destocking trend. Attention should be paid to tomorrow's SMM weekly HRC balance. In the short term, HRC prices were still expected to fluctuate with costs, with limited momentum for further gains.

【SMM Steel】South Korea's KTC on Feb 23, 2026, requested five-year AD duties on Chinese and Japanese hot-rolled steel after an affirmative final ruling. Rates: China 28.16-33.10%, Japan 31.58-33.43%. Price undertakings were approved for some firms. Products covered under numerous HS codes.

【SMM Steel】South Africa's ITAC issued an affirmative final AD ruling on certain flat-rolled steel from China, Japan, and Taiwan. Chinese exporters face 6.99-47.92% duties; Japan 44.95-57.23%; Taiwan 24.20%. Products are ≥600mm wide iron, non-alloy or alloy steel, including HR coils/plate, pickled & oiled, hot-rolled, or uncoated. Excludes stainless and GOES. Duties protect the SACU market from unfair pricing.

This week, Lecong hot-rolled coil inventory stood at 1.0077 million mt, down 46,600 mt WoW, a decrease of 4.42%; up 2.07% YoY on a calendar basis and down 6.11% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] News-Driven Disturbances Pushed SS Futures Higher to Test the Upside, Confidence in the Stainless Steel Spot Market Gradually Recovered SMM News, March 24: SS futures rose strongly. Affected by market fluctuations triggered by news of geopolitical conflict yesterday, SS futures rose sharply in the night session, and the daytime session maintained a fluctuating but relatively strong trend, closing at 14,290 yuan/mt by midday. In the spot market, boosted by the sharp rise in SS futures, market confidence somewhat recovered; although the increase in traders' spot quotations was limited, both inquiries and transactions showed signs of recovery during the week. The current market is heavily disturbed by news factors, and changes in the geopolitical conflict still need close attention. The most-traded SS futures contract strengthened and moved higher. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,305 yuan/mt, up 125 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 115-315 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi rose by 50 yuan/mt, while the average price in Foshan was unchanged; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were unchanged; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils, Wuxi quotations were unchanged; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were also unchanged. As the market entered the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April," although the stainless steel market ushered in a seasonal recovery window, end-use demand fell short of expectations, downstream wait-and-see sentiment gradually intensified, and the procurement side only maintained a restocking pace for rigid demand, with none of the transaction momentum typically seen in the peak season emerging. The market's view on stainless steel prices...