SMM Weekly Stainless Steel Futures Review — week of July 20–24, 2026. Middle East conflict escalation and tight Indonesian nickel ore supply keep the benchmark contract elevated near a two-week high, though it slips RMB 105/mt over the week of July 20–24 as social inventories tip back into a build.

SMM Weekly Stainless Steel Futures Review — week of July 6–10, 2026. Weak nickel prices and soft off-season demand drag the benchmark contract down RMB 310/mt, breaking below the RMB 14,500/mt support level in the week of July 6–10.

Tightening supply policy in Indonesia, new import quotas and carbon costs in the EU, and tariff walls in the US pushed benchmark stainless steel prices higher across nearly every major market in the first half of 2026 — even as real demand stayed weak everywhere, turning global trade increasingly into a fight over market access rather than supply and demand.

Indonesia has strengthened oversight of its value-added nickel industry under Ministry of Finance Decree No. 32/MK/BC/2026, implementing Minister of Trade Regulation No. 17/2026. The regulation imposes stricter export controls on HS Code Ex. 7202.60.00, covering ferronickel (FeNi) ingots and lumps (≥8% Ni), Sponge FeNi and Nugget FeNi (≥4% Ni), and low-grade FeNi products (2% ≤ Ni < 4%, Fe ≥75%), including certain Nickel Pig Iron (NPI) products. Exporters must obtain mandatory Surveyor Reports (LS) and export authorizations, while from 1 January 2027, exports will generally be limited to state-owned export enterprises (BUMN Ekspor), subject to approved exemptions.

SMM Weekly Stainless Steel Futures Review — week of June 29 – July 3, 2026. Weak nickel and a softening off-season demand backdrop offset firm mill pricing and low inventories, steadying the benchmark contract near RMB 14,655/mt

From July 1, a 50% out-of-quota tariff grabs the headlines — but for stainless steel, the real rule change is "melt-and-pour" origin, and it rewrites who counts as the producer.