SMM News, March 19: Total inventory in the two major stainless steel markets of Wuxi and Foshan declined further this week, falling from 998,100 mt on March 12, 2026 to 979,300 mt on March 19, down 1.88% WoW. Stainless steel social inventory extended its decline this week, with inventory in the two core markets of Wuxi and Foshan continuing to pull back WoW. Although the market has entered the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April," ongoing geopolitical conflicts continued to disrupt the market this week, while SS futures weakened and came under pressure, leading to a clear lack of market confidence. Overall transactions during the week were weaker than last week; even though the demand-side recovery fell short of expectations, downstream end-users still maintained a just-in-time procurement pace. Supply side, stainless steel mills faced the dual pressure of elevated production schedules and high inventory, and their willingness to ship stayed high; during the week, a major mainstream mill lowered its guidance price, directly boosting market transactions and becoming the core driver behind the slight pullback in inventory. Sentiment in both the spot market and futures was subdued. Coupled with geopolitical conflicts and limited upside in raw material prices, the market's earlier bullish sentiment completely faded, while downstream buyers only maintained just-in-time procurement with no willingness to stockpile, further constraining restocking room. Overall, this week's modest inventory drawdown mainly relied on active shipments by steel mills and support from just-in-time transactions. Current social inventory remained at a high level, and with March production schedule expectations still relatively high, pressure on inventory drawdown remained prominent. Although inventory posted consecutive declines in the short term, constrained by weak market confidence and the absence of downstream stockpiling demand, inventory is unlikely to see a substantial drawdown. Whether inventory can continue to decline steadily will still depend on close monitoring of how the geopolitical situation evolves and the pace of actual downstream demand release.

[SMM Nickel Flash] March 19 News: Supply side, as nickel prices pulled back sharply under pressure from macro sentiment, market confidence was dampened, and some upstream quotations loosened noticeably. Demand side, stainless steel prices were unlikely to rise, and amid the pullback in sentiment, intended prices from downstream steel mills also fell, with some low-priced transactions seen in the market. Overall, the sharp drop in nickel prices dragged on market confidence, and the price center of high-grade NPI pulled back.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Continued to Pull Back, Stainless Steel Spot Quotes Were Lowered SMM News on March 19: SS futures extended their further downward pullback. Against the backdrop of hawkish remarks from the US Fed and escalating geopolitical conflicts, non-ferrous metal futures generally moved lower, with SS also declining in tandem and closing at 13,935 yuan/mt by the midday break. In the spot market, continued declines in SS futures significantly weakened market confidence; coupled with the recent pullback in high-grade NPI prices, market expectations for cost support also softened. In a market where transactions had already been sluggish this week, inquiries and deals weakened further; in addition, March supply remained high, prompting traders to lower their quotes for 304 stainless steel during the day. However, supported by news yesterday that steel mills were holding prices firm, 200-series stainless steel rose against the trend, with 201 stainless steel prices moving higher. Further attention should still be paid to downstream end-user purchase conditions. The most-traded SS futures contract fell and pulled back. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 13,930 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 340-540 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi rose 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coil, the average price in Wuxi fell 150 yuan/mt and in Foshan fell 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi fell 200 yuan/mt; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, Wuxi quotes fell 100 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 430/2... in both Wuxi and Foshan.

[SMM Daily Review: Sharp Drop in Nickel Prices Dragged Down Market Confidence, High-Grade NPI Price Center Pulled Back] March 19 News: SMM's upstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 2.88, up 0.07 MoM, and the downstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 1.59, up 0.02 MoM.

[SMM Nickel Flash] March 18 News, Supply side, although production costs remained elevated, some upstream traders' offers loosened under pressure from weak end-user demand. Demand side, stainless steel finished product prices generally fell, and amid losses faced by steel mills, bid prices for high-grade NPI procurement declined again, capping upside room for high-grade NPI prices. Overall, high-grade NPI prices still found support at the bottom, but market offers loosened under pressure from the end-user market.

[SMM Daily Chrome Commentary: Production Cuts and Maintenance Tightened Supply, While Elevated Costs May Have Led to Losses] March 19, 2026: Chrome ore prices continued to rise, while ferrochrome quotations remained unchanged...