I. Market dynamics and price trends

1. Price oscillation

Stainless steel futures prices rose between late September and the first half of October 2024, but then retraced their steps between the second half of October and mid-November.

In the first half of November, stainless steel futures prices continued to rapidly oscillate downward, before prices stopped falling and sought to rise back up in the latter half of November. Monitoring data show that on November 15, 2024, the highest price, the lowest price and the closing price of the main stainless steel futures contract were 13,340 yuan / ton, 13,230 yuan / ton and 13,265 yuan / ton, respectively.

It is expected that the stainless steel futures prices may bottom out and oscillate upward in a weak manner from late November to early mid-December.

2. Spot market follow

In the spot market, stainless steel prices also basically follow the decline in futures prices. For example, the prices of 304 cold rolled and hot rolled coil in Guangdong Foshan market and Jiangsu Wuxi market have fallen.

Ⅱ. The import and export situation

1. Import volume

According to China Customs data statistics, in October 2024, the domestic stainless steel imports of about 158,300 tons, an increase of 38,400 tons, an increase of 32.1%; year-on-year decrease of 126,000 tons, a decrease of 44.3%.

Import regions are mainly Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, of which the total stainless steel imported from Indonesia is about 131,900 tons, an increase of 43.9% sequentially and a decrease of 47.4% year-on-year.

2. Export volume

In October 2024, the domestic stainless steel export volume of about 417,400 tons, a decrease of 41,100 tons, or 9%; year-on-year increase of 80,900 tons, an increase of 24.1%.

The main areas of export are Vietnam, Russia and India, etc., of which the top ten areas of mainland China exports exports about 235,000 tons, accounting for about 56.34%.

3. the industry enterprise dynamics

Ⅲ. European stainless steel enterprises Aperam

2024 the first three quarters, Aperam stainless steel and electrical steel sector deliveries increased by 7% year-on-year, but sales fell by 6% year-on-year. Third-quarter sales fell 11.8% year-on-year, a slight increase of 0.21%.

Despite the commissioning of the Brazilian hot rolling mill and the gradual reaching of capacity, shipments to Europe showed seasonal weakness due to the weak market.

Ⅳ. Domestic stainless steel enterprises

There are many stainless steel producers in China, among which TISCO Stainless, JISCO Hongxing, Yongjin and other enterprises occupy an important position in the industry. These enterprises have their own advantages in terms of scale, revenue, profitability and market share.