The price of stainless steel dropped slightly this week

      According to price monitoring, the price of stainless steel dropped slightly this week.  As of May 9th, the average daily price of the spot 304/2B stainless steel plate 1.0*1219*2438(tolerance 0.91) is the current quoted price of 12,064.29 yuan per ton. It dropped by 0.06% compared with the beginning of the week and by 8.06% year-on-year.

      This week, the total inventory of stainless steel was 111.3 tons, an increase of 2.83% compared with last week. Among them, the inventories of both cold and hot rolled steel rose.

      On the macro level, the issue of tariffs has weakened recently. The market remains on the sidelines regarding the negotiations between the United States and all parties. There are still uncertainties in the policy, but sentiment has basically been restored.

     Raw materials: The resources of some mines in the Philippines in June have been sold and the transaction was made at 1.4%FOB43. The domestic trade base price of nickel ore for the second phase in Indonesia is expected to rise in May. Under the influence of the rainy season, the supply of nickel ore remains tight. The new tax policy of the Indonesian government has been implemented. The royalty for nickel products has increased the tax on nickel metal by 1.5%. The prices of nickel and iron have loosened, and the price of iron has dropped under pressure. The latest mainstream steel mills are at 940 yuan per nickel (including tax upon arrival at the factory), while iron mills have suspended quotations.

       Supply side: In May, 43 domestic stainless steel plants are expected to produce 3.4899 million tons of crude steel, a decrease of 0.4% month-on-month and an increase of 5.8% year-on-year. Among them, 300 series is 1.776 million tons, a decrease of 2.6% month-on-month and an increase of 7.5% year-on-year. In April, the output of crude stainless steel was 3.5025 million tons, and the output of 300 series was 1.8243 million tons.

       Demand side: Demand has a certain degree of resilience but is still recovering slowly. The recovery of manufacturing orders is relatively slow, and procurement is mainly for replenishing inventories based on essential needs.