The global stainless steel market navigated a series of sharp sentiment. The opening weeks saw Indonesia's mill closures and price hikes push the cost narrative to its highest point of the year, before a combination of easing geopolitical tensions triggered the first price reduction since December 2025. The month's defining characteristic was similar to April's. What differentiated May was the sharply higher amplitude of both the policy signals and the emotional swings that accompanied them.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Fluctuated, Rising First and Then Falling, While Spot Quotes Edged Lower and Transactions Recovered SMM News, March 17: SS futures moved sideways. During the day, SS futures rose first and then fell, overall maintaining a sideways movement pattern, and closed at 14,155 yuan/mt by the midday break. In the spot market, although SS futures were relatively strong in the morning, affected by the previous cuts in guidance prices by major stainless steel mills, trader quotes still edged slightly lower than yesterday. However, market sentiment had stabilized somewhat, and amid the price pullback, both inquiries and transactions increased to some extent. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,220 yuan/mt, up 175 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi stood at 200-400 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price of cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi fell by 50 yuan/mt; for cold-rolled trim-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi fell by 50 yuan/mt, and the average price in Foshan also fell by 50 yuan/mt; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were basically stable; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted basically stable in Wuxi; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable. As the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April" began, the stainless steel market entered a window for demand recovery, with downstream end-users gradually recovering. Recently, activity in inquiries and purchases increased markedly, but stainless steel spot prices overall remained basically stable, with no obvious fluctuations. End-user procurement was still mainly driven by rigid demand, and the full bustle of the peak season had yet to emerge, ...

[SMM Daily Stainless Steel Review: End-Use Demand Peak Season Yet to Arrive, Stainless Steel Prices Struggle to Rise] SMM August 29 - SS futures initially fell then rose, pulling back overall. Before noon, SS futures fluctuated downward, breaking below 12,800 yuan/mt, then edged up slightly in the afternoon but still closed above 12,800 yuan/mt. Spot market-wise, SS futures lacked upward momentum, yet with the approaching September-October peak season, market sentiment remained basically stable. No significant price adjustments were observed intraday, with overall offers holding steady from the previous afternoon. Transactions mainly involved just-in-time procurement, while downstream wait-and-see sentiment persisted. Social inventory further declined this week, down 0.49% WoW to 928,800 mt. Futures-wise, the most-traded 2510 contract fluctuated. At 10:30 am, SS2510 traded at 12,790 yuan/mt, down 10 yuan/mt from the prior session. In Wuxi, spot premiums/discounts for 304/2B ranged between 380-580 yuan/mt. Spot market prices: Wuxi 201/2B cold-rolled coils averaged 8,050 yuan/mt; 304/2B cold-rolled coils (mill edge) averaged 13,100 yuan/mt in both Wuxi and Foshan; 316L/2B cold-rolled coils were at 25,675 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan; 316L/NO.1 hot-rolled coils were quoted at 25,100 yuan/mt in both regions; 430/2B cold-rolled coils stood at 7,450 yuan/mt in Wuxi and Foshan. This week, SS futures initially rose driven by macro tailwinds...