According to the price monitoring of SunSirs, stainless steel fell first and then rose this week. As of November 11, the daily average price of spot 304/2B stainless steel plate 1.0 * 1219 * 2438 (tolerance 0.91) was 15,881.43 RMB/ton, down 0.02% from the price of 15,884.29 RMB/ton at the beginning of the week and down 12.01% year on year.
According to the price difference analysis tool of SunSirs, the recent trend of nickel and stainless steel prices was consistent, while the stainless steel price lagged behind.
Analysis review
This week's stainless steel inventory totaled 650,200 tons, down 2.19% from last week. Among them, both cold and hot rolling stocks declined.
In terms of supply and demand, affected by macro emotions, raw nickel rose significantly, while stainless steel was relatively weak, rising slightly. Recently, the inquiry list of stainless steel market was cold, and traders were not optimistic about the future market. Toward the end of the year, downstream demand was shrinking, and the willingness to purchase in the market was low. Recently, the epidemic situation had improved in many places in northwest and central China, and the market was resuming production in an orderly manner. Supported by cost, ferronickel was temporarily stable. Supported by the cost, the spot price of stainless steel fell under pressure, and the profit space further contracted. Superimposed, the current inventory was mostly in steel mills and agents, and the market tradable inventory was low, so it’s needed to be cautious about future changes.
Market outlook
To sum up, the rebound in stainless steel prices over the weekend was driven by the sharp rise in nickel prices, but the actual demand was limited. The nickel price fundamentals were general, and the probability of future market shocks was high. It is expected that the price of stainless steel will remain fluctuate in a narrow range as the nickel price fluctuates.
