[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Struggled to Break Out of Rangebound Trading, Spot Market Held Prices Steady While Actively Shipping SMM News, March 13: SS futures remained in the doldrums. However, after opening higher in the night session, SS fluctuated downward, with the pace of pullback accelerating further in the afternoon, and closed at 14,190 yuan/mt. In the spot market, affected by fluctuations in futures, quotations were largely stable, with limited changes during the week. Although the recovery in downstream demand and cargo pick-up of previous orders provided support, and stainless steel social inventory stopped rising and pulled back this week, market expectations remained mediocre, with merchants mainly holding prices steady while actively making shipments. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated stronger. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2605 stood at 14,275 yuan/mt, down 15 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi were in the range of 245-445 yuan/mt. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi were all basically stable; for cold-rolled trimmed 304/2B coils, the average prices in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi were basically stable; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils were quoted basically stable in Wuxi; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan were basically stable. Entering the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April,” the stainless steel market ushered in a window for demand recovery, with downstream end-users gradually recovering and inquiry and purchase activity having picked up notably recently. However, stainless steel spot prices overall remained basically stable, with no obvious fluctuations. End-user procurement mainly followed rigid demand, and a full-scale peak-season boom had yet to emerge, while wait-and-see sentiment still lingered in the market. On the futures side, affected by Yi...

Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox has partnered with German industrial group Jeremias Group to launch the Blueline product line, touted as the world’s first low-emission chimney and smoke-extraction duct system. Designed to support the decarbonization of the construction sector, the system is manufactured using Acerinox’s EcoACX® sustainable stainless steel, which is produced with 100% renewable energy. The Blueline system incorporates over 90% recycled material, achieving at least a 50% reduction in its carbon footprint compared to conventional materials, highlighting a significant step toward integrating low-carbon stainless steel products into sustainable building infrastructure.

According to recent reports, Gujarat-based manufacturer Venus Pipes & Tubes Ltd has secured a new supply contract for seamless and welded stainless steel tubular products. This order underscores the surging demand for advanced industrial materials across India's engineering, power, and process sectors. As critical components in high-performance applications like power generation, heat exchangers, and chemical facilities, these corrosion-resistant pipes are seeing increased consumption driven by scaling nationwide infrastructure and energy projects. The contract highlights the expanding footprint of Indian stainless steel pipe manufacturers as they increasingly invest in modern production technologies to meet stringent specifications for both robust domestic needs and export markets.

According to the Fu'an City Development and Reform Bureau, as outlined in its 2026 economic and social development plan released on March 6, the city is set to continuously consolidate its leading advantage in the stainless steel new materials industry. A key focus for the year is accelerating the construction and implementation of major downstream projects, specifically highlighting Runhengxin's 600,000-ton stainless steel cold-rolling project and a new titanium alloy materials manufacturing industrial park. Through these strategic capacity expansions, Fu'an aims to push the total output value of its stainless steel new materials industry to 246 billion RMB in 2026, targeting a year-on-year growth rate of over 5%.

The General Court of the European Union has annulled a European Commission regulation that extended a 17.3% anti-dumping duty on Indonesian hot-rolled stainless steel sheets and coils to imports consigned from Turkey. The ruling followed a legal challenge by Turkish steel producer Çolakoğlu Metalurji. The Court determined that the Commission made an error of law by incorrectly classifying the Turkish producer's processing activities as an "assembly operation" under EU circumvention criteria, thereby invalidating the extended duties for the applicant company.

According to the Zhouning County Natural Resources Bureau, the Fujian Tsingshan Special Materials stainless steel deep processing project officially received its construction engineering planning permit on February 14, 2026. The major facility, covering a land area of over 207,700 square meters with a total construction area of approximately 156,482 square meters, marks a significant step forward in capacity expansion for the Tsingshan-affiliated entity in Fujian province, further solidifying its downstream processing footprint.

The Indian Stainless Steel Developers Association (ISSDA) is urging the government to permanently eliminate customs duties on imported scrap and ferroalloys and to designate chromium as a critical mineral, aiming to support the sector's capacity expansion from 7 mt to 11 mt. With domestic consumption growing at 7-8% annually, the industry is simultaneously seeking stricter protection against Chinese dumping, warning that China is diverting its over 8 mt of excess melting capacity to India, frequently by rerouting shipments through countries like Vietnam to bypass existing trade safeguards.

According to Assofermet, the Italian steel market remained weak in February amid widespread caution along the supply chain and mounting regulatory uncertainties. In the stainless steel segment, selling prices saw a further increase—rising by 10% since November 2025—but this was driven primarily by supply constraints rather than any real recovery in stagnant downstream consumption. The broader market is heavily weighed down by the application of default values for CBAM calculations and new EU safeguard measures, which are structurally increasing the cost of imported steel. Coupled with macroeconomic weakness in Germany and France, and escalating Middle East geopolitical tensions pushing up energy and transport risks, market sentiment remains highly cautious.

According to EFDA, the CBAM is severely penalizing importers of screws, nuts, and other fasteners, with costs reportedly surging by 30% to 50% since the mechanism took full effect in January 2026. The EFDA attributes this drastic cost increase to structural failures by the European Commission, specifically the absence of a functioning verification system that forces importers to rely on exorbitantly high default emissions values rather than actual data. This issue is heavily compounded by a severe shortage of certified verifiers, whose accreditation is delayed until summer 2027. Warning that these bureaucratic complexities are threatening the global competitiveness of European end products like automobiles and machinery.

SMM News, March 12: Total inventory across the two major stainless steel markets of Wuxi and Foshan stopped rising and pulled back this week, falling from 1.0164 million mt on March 5 to 998,100 mt on March 12, down 1.8% WoW. Stainless steel social inventory posted slight destocking this week. The market has now officially entered the traditional peak consumption season of “Golden March and Silver April,” and downstream end-users gradually resumed production and operations, with stainless steel demand steadily recovering. Market inquiries and purchase activity rebounded significantly from the previous period, providing important support for the inventory pullback. Supply side, planned stainless steel production for the month is expected to remain high, and arrivals to the market stayed stable. Although recovering demand, together with the gradual pick-up of goods against previous orders, drove a slight inventory pullback, further inventory declines still face clear resistance due to pressure from the supply side. In both futures and the spot market, SS futures have continued to fluctuate since March, while guidance prices from major stainless steel mills remained flat consecutively. Although stainless steel prices were still supported on the cost side by rising nickel ore prices, upward momentum for further gains was insufficient. Wait-and-see sentiment remained strong in the market, with downstream purchases mainly driven by rigid demand and stockpiling kept cautious. No large-scale restocking emerged, which to some extent limited the extent of inventory destocking. Overall, this week’s inventory stop-rising and destocking was mainly driven by factors such as recovering downstream demand as production resumed and goods pick-up for previous orders, while also being constrained by high supply, choppy futures, and wait-and-see market sentiment. Although slight destocking was achieved in the short term, further inventory declines still face considerable resistance. Whether destocking can continue will still hinge on the strength of the sustained recovery in downstream demand and the actual release on the supply side.