[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] Easing Geopolitical Sentiment Supports Base Metals; SS Futures Hold Up Well and Fluctuate Upward SMM News on March 10: SS futures showed a hold-up-well, rangebound pattern. US President Trump said regarding the situation related to Iran that “the war is about to end,” which supported base metals futures and led to signs of strengthening. SS futures also rose in tandem, closing at 14,265 yuan/mt by the midday close. In the spot market, driven by stronger SS futures, traders turned more optimistic and confidence improved, with fewer low-priced supplies in the market. Downstream end-users still mainly made just-in-time procurement, and overall transactions remained steady. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated downward. At 10:15 a.m., SS2604 was quoted at 14,310 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, spot premiums for 304/2B were in the 210-410 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coils were generally stable; for cold-rolled trimmed-edge 304/2B coils, the average price in Wuxi was stable and the average price in Foshan was stable; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were stable; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils in Wuxi were quoted stable; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were stable. As the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April” begins, the stainless steel market is entering a window for demand recovery. Downstream demand is gradually returning as market participants resume work and resume production after the Chinese New Year holiday, but although transactions improved compared with the earlier period, the bustling peak-season momentum has yet to emerge. End-user procurement remains mainly just-in-time, and stockpiling willingness is relatively low. On the futures side, driven by risk aversion triggered by geopolitical conflicts...

On March 9, the average SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate price was flat WoW from last Friday.

[SMM Chrome Daily Commentary: Quotes Rose Steadily, Strong Support at the Bottom] News on March 10, 2026: Both ferrochrome and chrome ore quotes rose slightly……

[SMM Daily Review: The High-Grade NPI Market Was Briefly Under Pressure, While the Cost-Support Logic Remained Unchanged] News on March 10: SMM’s upstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 2.9, up 0.02 MoM, while the downstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 1.4, up 0.03 MoM.

[SMM Daily Brief Commentary on Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, most coke producers were in a loss-making position, and some coke producers saw inventory buildup, which continued to suppress their production incentives, with coke oven operating rates edging down. Demand side, steel mills’ coke inventory was at a reasonable level, and they were still mainly purchasing as needed; steel mills showed signs of controlling arrivals. In addition, the impact of steel mills’ voluntary production cuts during the Two Sessions led to a decline in the daily average hot metal output, weakening rigid demand for coke. Overall, coke fundamentals remained unoptimistic, and cost support was expected to weaken; in the short term, the coke market may remain in the doldrums.

[Domestic Iron Ore Brief Commentary: Iron Ore Concentrates Prices in the Tangshan Area May Have Some Room to Move Higher] The Tangshan domestic ore market saw a wait-and-see stance in supply and demand, with environmental protection-related controls constraining beneficiation production; overall iron ore concentrates resources were relatively tight, and beneficiation plants holding cargo showed strong bullish sentiment. The local delivery-to-factory price, tax included, for 66 grade iron ore concentrates (dry basis) was 970-980 yuan/mt. Steel mills, recently affected by production restrictions, saw a noticeable phased decline in overall hot metal, but it is expected to gradually return to normal next week, so demand support for iron ore concentrates remains. In addition, the recent trend in iron ore futures prices

Based on current production conditions and in light of prevailing market demand, effective March 10, Yuk Kun, Xian Fu, Cheng Steel, De Sheng, and Heng Steel adjusted the price spreads among specification groups for construction steel.

On March 9, the average SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate price was flat WoW from last Friday.

As of March 10, the operating rate of 50 electric furnace steel mills nationwide mainly producing construction materials was 35.38%, up 24.62% WoW from the previous period; the capacity utilization rate was 29.34%, up 22.46% WoW; daily average production of construction materials was 65,300 mt, up 50,000 mt WoW.

DCE iron ore futures fell before rising, stabilizing in the afternoon session. The most-traded contract I2605 finally closed at 784 yuan/mt, up 0.26% from the previous session. Meanwhile, spot prices fell 2–5 yuan from the previous trading day. Traders showed average enthusiasm in quoting prices, and steel mills’ purchases were mainly for rigid demand. Overall, the spot market saw scant transactions. According to SMM survey tracking, blast furnace maintenance intensity continued to increase this week, with the impacted volume up 102,100 mt WoW to 1.9892 million mt. Iron ore demand was currently at a relatively low level. As blast furnaces that underwent earlier maintenance resumed production in a concentrated manner, hot metal production was expected to rebound next week, and iron ore demand was likely to improve. On the macro front, the war in the Middle East remained in a stalemate. Surging crude oil prices pushed up the ocean freight rate and the cost of imported iron ore, providing cost support for ore prices. However, due to limited actual transactions, upward momentum showed signs of weakening. Therefore, in the short term, ore prices might mainly see sideways movement within a range.