SunSirs: Stainless Steel Prices Fluctuated to Be Weaker This Week (August 19-23)
August 26 2024 14:24:00 SunSirs (John)
Price trend
According to the price monitoring of SunSirs, the price of stainless steel first rose and then fell this week. As of August 23rd, the daily average price of spot 304/2B stainless steel flat plate 1.0 * 1219 * 2438 (tolerance 0.91) was 12,750 RMB/ton, a decrease of 0.06% from the beginning of the week and a year-on-year decrease of 10.88%.
According to the price difference analysis tool of SunSirs, the prices of nickel and stainless steel were basically similar.
Analysis review
This week's stainless steel inventory totaled 108.87 tons, an increase of 0.36% compared to last week. Among them, cold-rolled inventory decreased while hot-rolled inventory increased.
From the supply side, Indonesia's nickel ore was still tight, with a premium of 22-25 US dollars per wet ton. However, stainless steel production may not be as expected, resulting in a relatively broad range of NPI price transactions, with the central price still around 1,000 yuan per nickel point and a cold rolled cost of 13,900 RMB. There was still no guaranteed profit on the market.
Import and export: In July 2024, China exported 7.827 million tons of steel, a decrease of 918,000 tons from the previous month and a decrease of 10.5% compared to the previous month; From January to July, the cumulative export of steel reached 61.227 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 21.8%. In July, China imported 505,000 tons of steel, a decrease of 70,000 tons from the previous month and a decrease of 12.2% compared to the previous month; From January to July, the cumulative import of steel reached 4.122 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6.7%.
On the demand side, downstream procurement remained cautious, and there were no signs of peak season yet. Pay attention to changes in macro expectations.
Market outlook
Overall, the cost support for stainless steel was strong as of August 23rd, but with an increase in production in August, if demand does not improve, stainless steel may face downward pressure. It is expected that the price of stainless steel will mainly fluctuate to be weaker.
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