[SMM Steel] The US Department of Commerce finalized its antidumping administrative review on corrosion-resistant steel products from Taiwan covering July 2023-June 2024. Sheng Yu Steel and Prosperity Tieh Enterprise received final dumping margins of 0.00%, while Great Grandeul Steel Company Limited (Samoa) was assigned a weighted-average dumping margin of 0.99%. The USDOC maintained nearly all calculations from the preliminary findings, with only a minor spelling correction made to Prosperity’s corporate name.

[SMM Steel] Global crude steel production declined 1.9% y-o-y to 153.4 million mt in April 2026, while January-April output fell 2.0% y-o-y to 613.3 million mt, according to worldsteel data. China’s April crude steel output dropped 2.8% y-o-y to 83.6 million mt, while India, South Korea, and the US recorded growth of 3.9%, 4.8%, and 9.4% respectively. EU-27 output declined 1.8% y-o-y to 11.0 million mt, while CIS production fell sharply by 13.4% y-o-y. Market participants said global steel production remains under pressure from weak demand and ongoing regional trade and geopolitical uncertainties.

[SMM Steel] Germany’s crude steel production increased by 9.5% y-o-y to 3.23 million mt in April 2026, although output declined 3.3% m-o-m, according to WV Stahl. BOF steel production rose 10.7% y-o-y to 2.22 million mt, while EAF output increased 7.1% y-o-y to 1.01 million mt. January-April crude steel production reached 12.49 million mt, up 9.1% y-o-y. Market participants said the data reflected a gradual recovery in German steel production, although overall demand and capacity utilization remained below sustainable levels.

This week, ferrous metals continued to pull back, with coking coal and coke seeing the most notable correction. In the first half of the week, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice on the implementation measures for capacity replacement in the steel industry, proposing that the capacity replacement ratio for ironmaking and steelmaking should be no less than 1.5:1. The further tightening of capacity replacement requirements had a longer-term impact. Meanwhile, macro markets outside China experienced significant fluctuations, and market expectations for ex-China "interest rate hikes" strengthened. In the second half of the week, data on the five major steel products were released, showing production increased somewhat while inventory continued to decline. Spot market side, traders began to show some flexibility on prices, the spot-futures price spread for hot-rolled coil continued to narrow, some spot-futures arbitrage traders mainly cut losses with shipments, and end-users continued to restock on an as-needed basis...

[SMM Analysis] Raw Material Prices See Slight Correction, Stainless Steel Mill Profits Expand This week, both stainless steel production costs and prices pulled back slightly, and steel mill profits expanded accordingly. Using 304 cold-rolled as the calculation benchmark, the current raw material-based profit margin was 2.19%, while the low-level inventory raw material-based profit margin reached 3.67%. Overall industry profitability was moderate, and steel mills therefore maintained high production schedules. On the nickel-based raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices first declined then rose this week, showing an overall slight pullback. During the week, news emerged that Indonesia planned to unify ferroalloy exports under state-owned enterprise operations. Although stainless steel scrap still held a notable cost-effectiveness advantage and steel mills had a strong desire to bargain down prices, supply uncertainty fueled a strong market sentiment to hold prices firm and hold back from selling, and prices ultimately stopped falling and stabilized. As of this Friday, mainstream high-grade NPI with a grade of 10-12% fell 4.5 yuan per nickel unit, closing at 1,140.5 yuan/nickel unit. Stainless steel scrap market, prices pulled back this week. The decline was driven by the combined impact of multiple bearish factors, including weak spot cargo performance in finished products, steel mills pushing for lower raw material prices, and downward adjustments in molten steel quotes. However, the decline was limited for the following reasons: the tight tax invoice situation was expected to ease, trading pain points were being gradually resolved, and steel mill purchase expectations rose accordingly. In addition, steel scrap held a greater cost-effectiveness advantage over NPI, and coupled with steel mills still being profitable and rigid demand remaining robust, prices were effectively supported. The overall pattern showed "weakening spot cargo, cost support, and recovering expectations," and short-term prices were expected to fluctuate in tandem with finished products, with limited downside room. As of this Friday, mainstream 30 in the Shanghai area...

Chinese Taiwan's Yusco announced on 21st of May that its stainless steel product portfolio has received EPD certifications, covering carbon steel slabs and hot-rolled products, as well as austenitic and 400-series stainless steel slabs, hot-rolled, and cold-rolled products. The certification quantifies environmental performance across the full product lifecycle, an increasingly essential requirement for international market access as regulations such as the EU's CBAM take effect globally. Yusco has invested in process optimization and energy management to meet growing low-carbon supply chain demands, with the certification reinforcing its competitive position in the international green steel trade.