WEEKLY: China's 304 stainless prices face strong headwinds

China's spot prices for 300-series stainless steel came under pressure across major markets during Mysteel's survey week to August 19, weighed down by a weakening futures market and Tsingshan Group's two consecutive cuts to its agent sales price floors, Mysteel Global learned.

On August 19, Mysteel assessed the price of 304/2B Hongwang 2.0×1240mm stainless cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Wuxi at Yuan 14,600/tonne ($2,170/t) in-warehouse including 13% VAT, down by Yuan 200/t from a week earlier. In parallel, the most-traded stainless contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange for October delivery closed Wednesday's