Asian stainless steel prices held stable for a third consecutive week, with Chinese Taiwan's export quotes unchanged and Chinese export offers rebounding to steady levels after a brief dip earlier in the month. Raw material trends diverged, LME nickel prices softened while Indonesian NPI gained ground; Chinese domestic ferronickel stabilized and stainless steel futures posted a weekly gain. Trading activity remains quiet during the traditional off-season, though consumption levels are running ahead of the same period last year. A recent Middle East peace accord helped nickel prices bounce back, pointing to a firm short-term market trend.

[SMM Analysis] Stainless Steel Prices and Costs Rise in Tandem, Steel Mill Profits Slightly Recover but Struggle to Rise This week, stainless steel prices and production costs moved up together, slightly expanding steel mill profit margins. Taking 304 cold-rolled as the calculation benchmark, the profit margin based on current raw material costs stood at 2.31%, while that based on inventory raw material costs was 2.59%. Nickel-based raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices rose sharply this week. Driven by both the sharp rise in SS futures and the gradual release of downstream procurement demand during the week, high-grade NPI prices moved up accordingly. Market expectations for further price increases remain relatively strong, with a notable willingness to hold prices firm. In the near term, high-grade NPI prices are expected to continue fluctuating upward. As of this Friday, mainstream 10%-12% grade high-grade NPI rose by 9 yuan per nickel unit, closing at 1,149.5 yuan/nickel unit. In the stainless steel scrap market, scrap prices edged up this week, bolstered by the combined boost from stronger futures, rising finished steel prices, and the recovery of high-grade NPI, with evident cost support. However, the market has entered the traditional off-season, with frequent production cuts at steel mills weakening demand expectations. Additionally, tax invoice issues have constrained trading activity. While short-term positives have supported firmer prices, under the dual pressures of weak off-season demand and industry pain points, further upside will struggle, and there is a risk of a pullback. As of this Friday, prices of mainstream 304 off-cuts in Shanghai rose by 100 yuan/mt, with latest quotations at around 10,550 yuan/mt. Chromium-based raw material cost side, high-carbon ferrochrome prices continued to edge down this week. Despite recent news of power supply tightness in the Mengxi region of Inner Mongolia, the impact on local high-carbon ferrochrome production...

Chinese Taiwan's stainless steel leader Yusco reported consolidated revenue of NT$3.69 billion for May, up 37.3% YoY and 21.6% MoM, its highest level since November last year, driven by seven consecutive months of stainless steel price increases. Cumulative revenue for the first five months reached NT$14.95 billion, still down 7.8% YoY. Supported by overall market improvement and elevated raw material costs, Yusco raised June prices for its benchmark 304 hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils by NT$2,000/ton, bringing the two-month cumulative increase to NT$6,000/ton. Downstream inventory replenishment activity continues to strengthen full-year business prospects.

Walsin Lihwa expects Q2 earnings to substantially surpass Q1, with over NT$3.5 billion in gains from selling shares of Winbond and Walton Advanced Engineering set to be recognized in the quarter, contributing more than NT$0.8 per share. Q1 net profit reached NT$3.58 billion, up 428% YoY at NT$0.81 per share. May revenue rose 12.4% MoM to a one-year high of NT$17.46 billion (+11.13% YoY), driven by seven consecutive months of stainless steel price hikes including a NT$3,000/ton increase for 304 wire rods in June. Separately, rising international copper and nickel prices combined with heavy foreign investment drove the company's stock to its NT$37.7 daily limit last Friday (June 12).

In H1 2026, the Indonesian 10-12% high-grade NPI (delivered to port, tax inclusive) market trended steadily upward, with the SMM average price rising 12% compared to the same period in 2025. Price movements were characterized by “stepwise increases and fluctuations at highs.” Each round of supply-demand imbalance and policy disruption pushed prices onto a higher level.

[SMM Analysis] Stainless Steel Off-Season Demand Combined with Macro Turbulence: Prices and Costs Pulled Back in Tandem, Narrowing Steel Mill Profits This week, stainless steel prices and production costs pulled back in tandem, slightly narrowing steel mill profit margins. Using 304 cold-rolled coil as the calculation benchmark, the profit margin based on current raw material costs was 2.23%, while the profit margin based on inventory raw material costs was 1.31%. On the nickel-based raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices continued to pull back this week. Dragged down by the decline in SHFE nickel prices during the week, coupled with the heightened cost advantage of stainless steel scrap, expected production schedules at stainless steel mills dropped, reinforcing a strong desire to bargain down prices. High-priced transactions encountered resistance, keeping high-grade NPI prices in the doldrums. As of this Friday, mainstream 10%-12% grade high-grade NPI rose by 0.5 yuan per nickel unit, closing at 1,144 yuan per nickel unit. In the stainless steel scrap market, prices remained largely stable this week. The pullback in high-grade NPI prices caused the raw material side to weaken, making it difficult to drive prices upward. However, a rebound in stainless steel futures and limited declines in finished product spot prices provided a counterbalancing force that supported prices. The industry has now entered the off-season for consumption, with steel mill production schedules and profits both sliding. Combined with rising uncertainty in the macro environment, bearish risks are gradually accumulating, and prices are expected to face downward pressure going forward. As of this Friday, mainstream 304 off-cuts in the Shanghai region gained 100 yuan/mt, with the latest quotation at approximately 10,450 yuan/mt. On the chrome-based raw material cost side, high-carbon ferrochrome prices edged down this week. Chrome ore port inventories remained at historically high levels, and prices gradually pulled back, weakening the cost support for high-carbon ferrochrome. Additionally, ferrochrome producers still had profit margins at present, and production declines……

European stainless steel prices are expected to continue rising over the coming weeks and months, with potential extensions to delivery times. The anticipated increases are driven by renewed rises in alloy surcharges and the imminent start of the EU safeguard successor measure on July 1, 2026. Adding to supply tightness, major EU stainless steel producers have reportedly already closed their order books, which could further extend lead times.

[SMM Chrome Daily Review: Overseas Market Offers Lowered, Market Transactions Limited] June 10, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore markets experienced slight fluctuations...

[SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Weekly Review] Scrap Edges Up on Raw Material Linkage, Off-Season Constraints Cap Gains This week, the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China edged up, with a quotation range of 10,400-10,500 yuan/mt. In the Foshan area, off-cuts of the same specification moved higher in tandem, trading in a range of 10,300-10,600 yuan/mt. From a raw material cost analysis perspective, the current production cost of stainless steel using 100% stainless steel scrap is approximately 14,580.48 yuan/mt, while the cost using only high-grade NPI stands at 15,153.78 yuan/mt, maintaining a significant cost spread between the two. Stainless steel scrap prices edged up this week. During the week, SS futures retreated after a rapid rise overall, while spot stainless steel prices fluctuated narrowly and held firm overall, providing a stable foundation for the stainless steel scrap market. Meanwhile, the alternative raw material high-grade NPI market continued to hold up well, with prices edging higher. The positive overall sentiment in the raw material segment spurred stainless steel scrap prices to rise in tandem. However, the market has now entered the traditional consumption off-season for stainless steel, with weak downstream end-use demand. Coupled with production cuts and maintenance at domestic steel mills, raw material demand expectations have weakened somewhat. The industry-wide issue of tight tax invoices has yet to be effectively resolved, continuing to constrain market trading activity. At the same time, recent grade degradation issues in high-grade NPI require steel mills to supplement nickel content with high grade nickel products, and combined with limitations in their production processes, it remains difficult for steel mills to significantly increase their use of stainless steel scrap. Although stainless steel scrap retains a favorable cost advantage over high-grade NPI, multiple bearish off-season factors on...

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Pullback Transmitted to Spot Market, Wait-and-See Sentiment Intensified and Stainless Steel Prices Pulled Back SMM, June 4 — SS futures trended lower and pulled back. Dragged down by declining SHFE nickel prices, SS futures pulled back in tandem, operating overall below the 15,000 yuan/mt level. As of the morning close, the most-traded SS contract was quoted at 14,745 yuan/mt. Spot market side, affected by the decline in SS futures, wait-and-see sentiment among downstream end-users of spot stainless steel heated up notably, with inquiries and transaction activity in the spot market weakening further, and trader offers adjusted downward accordingly. The most-traded SS contract fell and pulled back. At 10:15 AM, SS2607 was quoted at 14,770 yuan/mt, down 245 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in the Wuxi area were in the range of 400-900 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coil in Wuxi remained flat; for cold-rolled trimmed-edge 304/2B coil, the average price fell 50 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; cold-rolled 316L/2B coil prices in Wuxi remained flat; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil, Wuxi quotes rose 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 430/2B coil in both Wuxi and Foshan held steady. This week, the stainless steel market saw futures edging up slightly while spot prices moved sideways and stabilized. The futures-spot linkage remained weak, and the market officially entered the traditional consumption off-season, with the tug-of-war between longs and shorts on fundamentals intensifying. Traders had weak confidence in the market outlook with strong wait-and-see sentiment, but the slight recovery in futures stabilized market activity. Combined with steel mills' agents selling at stable prices and downstream...