Posted on 08 Aug 2022
Inventories of finished stainless steel at commercial warehouses in Wuxi and Foshan, China's two core stainless trading hubs, recovered by 1% to 640,644 tonnes over July 29-August 4 from the prior week's decline, according to Mysteel's latest survey. The rise in stocks chiefly reflected the uptick in deliveries to traders' warehouses and the users' weak buying, according to survey respondents.
Among the total, stocks in Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province thinned for the second week by a smaller 0.7% on week, while the volume in Foshan in South China's Guangdong province rebounded by 5.7% on week after the prior week's dip, the survey found.
Meanwhile, stocks of 300-series stainless products in both Wuxi and Foshan posted on-week gains of 1.8% and 13% respectively, as "a significant increment of these products' arrivals at warehouses was seen in the two markets, especially of cold-rolled coil (CRC)," a market source based in Shanghai said.
During the survey week, stainless buying from end-users was largely in line with the previous week's activity, with most just procuring enough to satisfy their near-term production needs, according to her. The steady fall in prices has led stainless users to monitor trends from the market's sidelines.
As of August 4, the price of 304/2B 2mm stainless CRC in Wuxi under Mysteel's tracking had dropped by another Yuan 200/tonne ($29.6/t) on week to Yuan 17,300/t in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT. The downtrend had started in mid-May, Mysteel Global noted.
Meanwhile, though stronger stainless futures prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) help buoy spot trading in the market – which had long stayed cool during the off-season for stainless consumption in summer – most deals were done by traders, as reported.
The most-traded stainless futures contract on the SHFE for delivery this September closed at Yuan 16,265/t on August 4, Yuan 540/t higher from the settlement price on July 29.
Source:Mysteel Global
