[SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Weekly Review] Futures Strength Drives Scrap Uptick; Off-Season Demand Keeps Gains in Check This week, 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts prices in east China rose, with a quotation range of 10,200-10,300 yuan/mt; in Foshan, 304 scrap off-cuts prices also moved up, in the range of 10,100-10,400 yuan/mt. From the raw material cost side, producing stainless steel entirely from stainless steel scrap currently costs about 14,351.25 yuan/mt, while using high-grade NPI would cost as much as 14,947.08 yuan/mt—the two still maintain a sizable cost spread. Stainless steel scrap prices edged up this week. During the week, SS futures strengthened overall, and bullish sentiment from futures flowed through to the spot market, nudging up spot prices for stainless steel finished products in tandem. Although steel mills still retained a desire to bargain down prices for raw material procurement, and the substitute raw material high-grade NPI prices continued to be in the doldrums, leaving overall raw material support moderate, stainless steel scrap followed the pace of the spot strength in finished products, moving up in sync and generally holding up well. This week high-grade NPI prices were in the doldrums, which narrowed the economic advantage of stainless steel scrap over it, but the scrap still maintained a significant edge, effectively supporting scrap prices and leaving little room for a steep decline. However, the market is currently in the traditional stainless steel consumption off-season, with downstream end-use demand staying weak. Coupled with the not-yet-resolved issue of tight tax invoices in the industry, these two bearish factors continue to suppress market trading activity. Overall demand growth for stainless steel scrap was limited, and the upside momentum in the market was capped. In summary, ...

[SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Market Weekly Review] SS Weakness and Sluggish Demand: Stainless Steel Scrap’s Cost Advantage Struggles Against Bearish Expectations This week, prices of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China pulled back, with a quotation range of 10,100-10,200 yuan/mt; prices for the same grade of stainless steel scrap in the Foshan area also fell back, ranging from 10,000-10,300 yuan/mt. From the raw material cost side analysis, the cost of producing stainless steel entirely from stainless steel scrap is currently about 14,218.64 yuan/mt, while the cost of using high-grade NPI reaches 14,972.65 yuan/mt, still maintaining a large cost spread. This week, stainless steel scrap prices drifted lower. SS futures pulled back throughout the week, with bearish sentiment spreading on the futures side, directly dragging down spot prices of stainless steel products slightly. The weak futures set the overall market tone. On the spot side, mainstream stainless steel mills adopted a cautious approach due to higher production costs and uncertain market outlook, as their published high-grade NPI tender prices were low, further weighing on sentiment in the nickel-based raw material and scrap markets. As a result, some stainless steel mills suspended purchases of stainless steel scrap during the week, market buying interest weakened noticeably, overall trading was subdued, and the price center of stainless steel scrap continued to shift lower. Overall, the cost advantage struggled to offset the suppression from bearish market expectations. This week, stainless steel scrap still held a significant economic advantage over high-grade NPI, and the cost substitution logic has not reversed, providing some bottom support for scrap prices. However, overall market sentiment remains weak, steel mill cost pressure…

Turkey's Ministry of Commerce has initiated a sunset review of anti-dumping measures on stainless steel pipes and hollow sections imported from Vietnam, following an application by domestic producers, according to the country's Official Gazette. The review will determine whether revoking existing duties would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping. Current AD duty rates range from 19.64% to 25% of CIF value depending on the exporting company. Products under review are classified under tariff codes 7306.40.20.90.00, 7306.40.80.90.00, and 7306.61.10.00.00.

The Japanese government has approved provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of nickel-based alloy stainless steel cold-rolled sheets and strips from China and Taiwan, Province of China, effective July 9 to November 8, 2026, with a maximum duty rate of 42.1%. Japanese authorities found that the products were exported at prices 20–40% below domestic Japanese market levels, causing material injury to the country's stainless steel industry.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Bottom Out, Stainless Steel Market Inquiry Activity Picks Up According to SMM on July 6, SS futures overall bottomed out during the session. The SS futures dropped sharply in the Friday night session but quickly recovered after the Monday daytime session opened. As of the close, the most-traded SS contract settled at 14,740 yuan/mt. In the spot market, morning stainless steel quotes were subdued by the Friday night decline, with overall offers on the low side. As futures surged, spot quotes were also restored in tandem. Market inquiry activity picked up notably, though transactions were mostly concentrated on low-priced cargoes. SS futures most-traded contract. At 10:15 a.m., SS2608 was at 14,725 yuan/mt, up 70 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi ranged 245-795 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the average price for Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coil was flat; cold-rolled trimmed edge 304/2B coil average prices were flat in Wuxi and Foshan; the price for cold-rolled 316L/2B coil in Wuxi was flat; the quote for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coil in Wuxi was flat; cold-rolled 430/2B coil was flat in both Wuxi and Foshan. This week, the tug-of-war between macro factors and industry fundamentals dominated futures movements. US inflation data pulled back, and market expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes further cooled, the US dollar...

Tang Eng Iron Works has issued flat prices for its July stainless steel products, snapping a seven-month streak of consecutive price increases. The decision covers its main 304 hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils as well as 316L surcharges, aligning with major upstream peers Yusco and Walsin Lihwa, which also rolled over their rates yesterday, keeping both sheet products and wire rods steady across the industry. The move marks a temporary pause to seven months of sustained price increases, bringing a period of stability to Chinese Taiwan's domestic stainless steel market.

[SMM Analysis] Finished Product Prices Fall in Tandem, Stainless Steel Mill Profits Slightly Compressed This week, stainless steel prices and production costs declined in tandem, with steel mill profit margins narrowing slightly. Using 304 cold-rolling as the assessment basis, the profit margin calculated with current raw material costs stood at 2.28%, while that based on inventory raw materials was 2.1%. On the nickel-based raw material cost side, high-grade NPI prices showed a downward pullback this week. Affected by weakening SHFE nickel and SS futures, coupled with disturbances from Indonesian nickel ore news, although NPI producers and traders maintained a strong willingness to hold prices firm, expectations of off-season maintenance and production cuts at stainless steel mills and the pullback in stainless steel prices led to low acceptance of high-priced raw materials, driving high-grade NPI prices to decline and pull back. As of this Friday, high-grade NPI with a mainstream grade of 10%-12% fell by 8.5 yuan per nickel unit, closing at 1,141 yuan per nickel unit. In the stainless steel scrap market, prices fell in tandem this week. SS futures pulled back and stainless steel finished product prices declined, dragging down stainless steel scrap. Currently in the traditional consumption off-season, end-use demand is weak, and expectations of lower steel scrap demand due to mill production cuts and maintenance, along with bearish macro sentiment, led to more cautious purchasing attitudes. Although stainless steel scrap holds an economic advantage over NPI and finds some bottom support, it is struggling to withstand the combined weight of multiple bearish factors, and the short-term market remains under pressure. As of this Friday, mainstream 304 off-cuts in Shanghai fell by 50 yuan/mt, with the latest quotation at approximately 10,500 yuan/mt. On the chrome-based raw material cost side, high-carbon ferrochrome prices continued to edge down this week. This week, TISCO and Tsingshan successively...

[SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Market Weekly Review] Futures and Raw Material Linkage Boost Stainless Steel Scrap Market, Off-Season Pressure Limits Gains This week, the price of 304 stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China edged up, with a quotation range of 10,500-10,600 yuan/mt; in Foshan, the price of the same specification stainless steel scrap also edged up, with a price range of 10,400-10,700 yuan/mt. From a raw material production cost analysis, the cost of producing stainless steel using only stainless steel scrap was approximately 14,701.1 yuan/mt, while the cost using only high-grade NPI reached 15,168.67 yuan/mt, maintaining a considerable cost price spread. Stainless steel scrap prices edged up this week. Recovering macro sentiment during the week drove SS futures higher, with the positive momentum in futures transmitting to the spot market and driving spot prices for stainless steel products higher. Meanwhile, purchasing activity in the high-grade NPI market picked up, lifting raw material prices. Futures, steel products, and alternative raw materials formed a linked boost, pushing stainless steel scrap prices higher this week. Although the rise in high-grade NPI prices this week narrowed the economic cost advantages of stainlessless steel scrap, the overall cost advantages remained prominent, continuing to provide bottom support for stainless steel scrap prices and ensuring the market held up well. Overall, short-term positive factors drove scrap prices moderately higher, but bearish constraints remain in the market. The market has officially entered the traditional consumption off-season for stainless steel, with frequent news of production cuts and maintenance at stainless steel mills within the industry. Market expectations for stainless steel scrap demand are gradually weakening. Meanwhile, issues such as tight industry tax invoices...

[SMM Stainless Steel Scrap Market Weekly Review] Futures Bottom Out to Support Market, Bull-Bear Balance Keeps Scrap Narrowly Stable This week, prices of 304-grade stainless steel scrap off-cuts in east China remained stable, with a quotation range of 10,400-10,500 yuan/mt; the same specification of stainless steel scrap off-cuts in Foshan also remained stable, with a price range of 10,300-10,600 yuan/mt. From a raw material production cost analysis, the cost of producing stainless steel entirely using stainless steel scrap is approximately 14,580.48 yuan/mt, while the cost of using high-grade NPI reaches 15,113.2 yuan/mt, with a considerable cost spread still maintained between the two. Stainless steel scrap prices remained generally stable this week. The substitute raw material high-grade NPI was affected by expectations of production cuts at stainless steel mills in the off-season, with prices continuing to pull back; the overall sentiment on the raw material side was weak, making it difficult to drive an uptick in stainless steel scrap. However, SS futures bottomed out during the week, effectively repairing market pessimism; meanwhile, spot prices of stainless steel products only edged down, highlighting the resilience of the spot market. Under the hedging effect of multiple factors, stainless steel scrap prices remained firm. Overall, the market has entered the traditional consumption off-season for stainless steel. Expectations for production schedules at stainless steel mills have been continuously revised downward, smelting margins at steel mills have narrowed compared with earlier periods. Additionally, macro market uncertainty remains relatively high, and bearish risks are gradually accumulating. It is expected that stainless steel scrap prices may face some pullback risks going forward.……

Tang Eng Iron Works distributed approximately 159,000 tons of stainless steel products in 2025, down 13.1% YoY and falling short of its 216,000-ton budget target. Cold-rolled and hot-rolled output declined 14.9% YoY to around 159,000 tons, despite raw steel production rising 6.3% to 31,285 tons. The company attributed the declines to US tariffs, exchange rate fluctuations, geopolitical tensions, and oversupply from cheap Chinese steel exports. To improve performance, Tang Eng plans to stabilize core business profits, leverage land assets for non-operating income, and introduce sustainability programs tied to its core operations.