SunSirs: Costs Lowered, Stainless Steel Weakly Declined in March
March 31 2023 13:12:21 SunSirs (John)
Price trend
According to the price monitoring by SunSirs, the price of stainless steel decreased slightly in March, with the price of stainless steel at 15,500 RMB/ton at the beginning of the month and 14,335.71 RMB/ton at the end of the month. The overall decline was 7.51%, and down 23.47% year-on-year.
According to data from SunSirs, both stainless steel prices and nickel prices fell in March, with a slight rebound in nickel prices at the end of the month.
Analysis review
In March, stainless steel inventories fell. As of the end of the month, stainless steel inventory totaled 1,276,853 tons, down 8.75% from the beginning of the month.
Fundamentals: In March, the initial monthly scheduled production of the 300 series was 1,574,900 tons, with a month-on-month increase of 6.2% and a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. However, recently, many leading enterprises have announced maintenance and production reduction, and the output will be significantly lower than the production schedule at the beginning of the month. The overall demand was weak, and the transmission of trade links to terminals was not smooth.
To sum up: Demand was weak, profits were upside down, many steel mills had announced maintenance and production reductions, and high inventory levels had been reduced. With the end of the rainy season in the Philippines, there has been a significant increase in port shipments, and nickel mines have continued to weaken. There is still room for nickel iron prices to move downward.
Market outlook
Before stainless steel inventory is reduced to normal levels or ferronickel production is significantly reduced, costs may still continue to collapse. However, April is a traditional peak season, and demand may improve. In addition to steel plant production reduction and maintenance, stainless steel is supported. It is expected that the price of stainless steel will mainly fluctuate at a low level.
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