MYSTEEL: China’s stainless stocks empty more slowly
Within the total, stainless stocks in Wuxi in East China’s Jiangsu province slipped to 291,177 tonnes as of June 4, down 2.5% on week, as against the decline of 4.2% over the prior week. During the same period, the volume in Foshan in South China’s Guangdong province actually increased by 2.7% on week to reach 204,197 tonnes, the survey showed.
Stainless Stocks in Wuxi and Foshan (Unit: tonne)
Location |
CRC |
WoW (%) |
HRC |
WoW (%) |
Total |
WoW (%) |
Wuxi |
189,126 |
3.25% |
102,051 |
-11.62% |
291,177 |
-2.5% |
Foshan |
109,707 |
7.44% |
94,490 |
-2.26% |
204,197 |
2.72% |
Note: The data include all the series of stainless products at traders.
One major reason for the slower drawdown of stainless stocks was the fact that demand from users had shown some signs of cooling during the survey period. “Inquiries from customers shrank significantly last week,” a market watcher in Wuxi disclosed.
Last week, stainless prices in the spot market saw a slight increase, as major steel mills raised their list prices after noting the strengthening nickel prices, Mysteel Global notes.
As of June 5, the price of 304/2B 2mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi was at Yuan 13,900/tonne ($1,964/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT, up Yuan 50/t from one week earlier, according to Mysteel’s data. Meanwhile, the three-month nickel buyers’ price on the London Metal Exchange was assessed at $12,857/t as of June 5, growing by $665/t from one week before.
Considering the weakness of stainless transactions in the domestic spot market, some traders opted to concede some profit margin and lower their offering prices to attract buyers and facilitate sales, Mysteel Global notes. However, “sales in the domestic stainless market still remain thin,” the Wuxi-based market source admitted.
Written by Nancy Zheng, zhengmm@mysteel.com
Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com
CSSC: China's stainless demand to increase further in 2024
Jan 25, 2024 16:00
International Ferroalloys and Stainless Steel Industry Annual Conference
Nov 03, 2023 11:30
INSG forecasts nickel supply surplus and stainless steel uptrend in '23
Oct 12, 2023 10:00
2023 Indonesia Nickel Industry Chain Conference, Jakarta
Feb 03, 2023 11:47