According to SMM's latest tracking, the total planned volume of cold-rolled coil commercial material for this month at 31 mainstream steel mills amounted to 4.2118 million mt, down 164,600 mt from the actual cold-rolled coil commercial material production of the previous month, a decrease of 3.8%.

According to market research, European stainless steel producers successfully lifted prices in March, driven by rising scrap costs, volatile energy prices, and limited import competition. Transaction prices for grade 304 cold-rolled coil reached an 18-month high as all European producers implemented month-on-month increases. Domestic mills are seeing improved order books, with lead times now extending into June and some delivery delays reported, particularly for ferritic materials. Producers are targeting further increases for July production, with some offers for grade 304 cold-rolled sheet already around $2,916/mt (EUR 2,700). Market participants note that mills aim for a target selling price of approximately $3,240/mt (EUR 3,000) in the coming months.

This week, ferrous metals retreated after a rapid rise. At the beginning of the week, the market said that Asia had shifted to coal-fired power generation due to a natural gas supply deficit, while Indonesia would increase coal production and impose export taxes. The rise in international coal prices was transmitted to China, and coking coal and coke led the gains in ferrous metals; mid-week, the Middle East situation remained volatile, and the U.S. and Iran held differing attitudes toward war, with ferrous metals consolidating at high levels; the pullback in the second half of the week was also mainly due to the weakening of the cost-side logic, as market rumors said long-term iron ore contract negotiations had been completed, expectations for tightening iron ore supply declined, and raw materials turned into the main driver of the pullback. In the spot market, speculative trading and end-user purchase sentiment improved in the first half of the week, while rigid demand remained dominant in the second half, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

In April 2026, Shougang Group adjusted the prices of some steel products based on the "Shougang Steel Products Sales Price Policy for March 2026" as follows: 1. The base price of HRC was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 2. The base price of pickled coils was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 3. The base price of cold-rolled coils was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 4. The base price of hot-dip galvanized sheet was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 5. The base price of aluminum-zinc coated and high-aluminum zinc-aluminum-magnesium coils was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 6. The base price of color-coated sheet was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 7. The base price of medium-aluminum zinc-aluminum-magnesium products was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 8. The base price of medium-thickness plates was raised by 200 yuan/mt. 9. Silicon steel: the base price of non-oriented silicon steel was raised by 200 yuan/mt, while the base price of grain-oriented silicon steel remained unchanged. All the above adjustments are tax-exclusive prices. The adjustments take effect from the date of issuance, and the right of interpretation belongs to the Marketing Center of Shougang Co., Ltd. This is hereby announced.

According to SMM’s latest tracking, the total planned volume of cold-rolled commercial products for this month across 31 mainstream cold-rolled coil steel mills was 4.073 million mt, up 257,500 mt from last month’s actual production of cold-rolled commercial products, an increase of 6.7%.

In January 2026, the European Union and India reached a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with the elimination of steel tariffs of up to 22% becoming a major market focus. However, clearing the policy fog of "bilateral exemptions" and analyzing actual export and carbon emission data reveals that the steel industry faces a highly asymmetric trade reshaping. This seemingly fair reduction is actually Europe trading a "capped" ticket for India's "uncapped" massive incremental market.

HRC prices fluctuated lower today, with the most-traded contract closing at 3,218, up 0.09% intraday. In the spot market, HRC offers in major cities nationwide were mostly lowered by 10 yuan/mt, with transactions generally weak. Cold-rolled coil prices remained stable. During the day, SMM's weekly HRC balance data showed production continued to rebound, while apparent demand dropped significantly. Based on SMM's survey of social inventories across 86 national warehouses (large sample) this week, total HRC social inventory reached 5.3775 million mt, up 1.1404 million mt from pre-holiday levels and up 31.57% YoY on a lunar calendar basis.

[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...

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 Largely Stable, Spot Stainless Steel Pre-Holiday Trading Slows Down SMM, Feb 5: SS futures were in the doldrums. Although the most-traded SHFE nickel and other nonferrous metals futures fell overall today, SS futures remained largely stable, with the high reaching 13,900 yuan/mt. In the spot market, affected by the renewed weakness in SS futures and the approaching Chinese New Year holiday, inquiries and trading activity for stainless steel further slowed down. However, most spot traders have entered the holiday preparation stage, maintaining an optimistic sentiment, with offers largely holding steady. The most-traded SS futures contract was in the doldrums. At 10:30 a.m., the SS2603 contract was quoted at 13,760 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B were in the range of 410-610 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi was 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; the price of cold-rolled 316L/2B coil was 26,600 yuan/mt in Wuxi and 26,600 yuan/mt in Foshan; the price of hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil was 25,750 yuan/mt in Wuxi; the price of cold-rolled 430/2B coil was 7,800 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan. With the Chinese New Year holiday approaching and risk aversion sentiment intensifying, bulls concentrated on profit-taking, leading to a lack of upward momentum in stainless steel futures, which overall showed a weak and fluctuating pattern. Signs of capital withdrawal were evident, further suppressing the rise in futures...