316L stainless steel plate merchants face financial pressure

November 9, 2022
Latest company news about 316L stainless steel plate merchants face financial pressure

At present, crude steel output is still at a high level, and the blast furnace operating rate has also rebounded slightly, and the supply pressure may increase in the later period; coupled with the low willingness of traders to stock up, steel mills are also in the stage of destocking. Confidence is low. The domestic coke market remained stable as a whole, and the prices in individual regions rose slightly. The overall transaction situation of the 316L stainless steel plate market was average. At this stage, due to the slow growth of terminal demand and the fact that most coal mines and coking plants are still at a loss, the operating rate of coking plants in May was also at a historically low level. Coal mines in various places also generally reduced production, and the cost pressure has further increased, resulting in coke prices hovering at a low level. .

It is understood that after entering October, the demand for steel billets in the Jiangsu market is still weak. At the same time, the decline in raw material prices and the continuous bottoming of steel futures make it difficult for steel mills to support prices. Therefore, some manufacturers have lowered their order prices in order to increase orders. The steel billet transaction in the Shandong market is not smooth. Although the quotations of most steel mills are basically stable, there is room for profit in the actual transaction. The Northeast billet market was steady with some declines last week. Due to sufficient orders from some billet manufacturers in the Northeast in the early stage, there is currently little pressure on the sales of 316L stainless steel plates. Therefore, even if the price of Tangshan billet continues to fall, the quotations of the leading steel mills in the Northeast remain stable. However, the actual transaction price of billets in the market has slightly loosened, and some merchants who are not optimistic about the market outlook have begun to actively ship. It is understood that due to the high billet quotations of some steel mills in the Northeast, new orders are very limited recently. In order to increase the enthusiasm of downstream orders, their prices will inevitably decline this week. The overall operation of the domestic mining market is weak, and the market quotations in major domestic regions have been lowered to varying degrees. Affected by the decline of the finished product market in North China, some iron and steel plants in Tangshan reduced the purchase price of iron ore, releasing pressure on the local iron ore market, causing the market price of 316L stainless steel to continue to decline, and the overall transaction was quite difficult. highlight. The markets in Handan and Xing were even weaker, and transactions were quite sluggish. The supply and demand in the Northeast region are weak. With the reduction of the purchase price of steel mills, the local market price is moving closer to the low level. The enthusiasm of downstream customers to purchase is still poor, and the shortage of funds is still the main reason. In addition, the demand situation is sluggish, and it is expected to be weak in the short term. Supported by the continuous rise of the hot-rolled futures market and the improvement of the spot market, the downward trend of spot steel prices has basically stopped. Under the suppression of unfavorable factors such as the concentration of ordering pressure, it is difficult for the hot-rolled market to have a decent reverse pumping market. On the one hand, the overall sluggish economic data in the first quarter shows that my country's economic growth has insufficient endogenous power, and steel, as a key high-energy-consuming and high-pollution industry in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", is itself suppressed by downstream market demand and its own excess capacity. In March, the average daily output of crude steel once again hit a record high, while my country's GDP growth rate in the first quarter dropped to 7.4%. The contradiction between production and demand is even more severe, and the adjustment of the steel market is not overnight. On the other hand, the price policy of the first-tier steel mills in May has been stable with some decline, which shows that the steel mills are cautious about the market in the later period, and the differentiation of the price trend of cold and hot rolling has also gradually narrowed the price difference between the two. In the steel industry, the profit or even loss Under the current situation, the performance of the current strong varieties may cause steel mills to increase production at full capacity, and the price difference between varieties will also return to normal after market adjustment. Therefore, in general, keep a cautious attitude towards the signs of short-term hot rolling, and it is difficult for stainless steel seamless pipes to form a general trend.

In the local profile market, due to the recent ups and downs in Tangshan market prices, but the overall range is limited, it has little impact on the price of Lecong profiles, but with the recovery of futures steel, billet and other prices, the 316L stainless steel plate market transaction atmosphere has improved slightly. It is understood that due to the small price difference between the north and the south in the early stage, local profile merchants have reduced their shipments from the north. Recently, new resources in the market have not arrived much, and the market inventory has gradually declined. Some commonly used specifications are shipped faster. goods. for later market trends

Merchants are facing financial pressure and are reluctant to sell too much at lower prices. Due to less recent arrivals, there is not much pressure on inventory; on the other hand, rainy weather affects transactions, resulting in fierce competition at low prices in the market, and merchants quickly cash in profits. The author believes that June is coming to an end, but the downturn that has lasted for more than a month will continue. It is expected that the mainstream trend of steel prices today will weaken and maintain stability. Judging from the total inventory of five varieties of wire rod, rebar, hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and medium and heavy plate in the country, the total national comprehensive inventory last week was 12.888 million tons, an increase of 54,000 tons, an increase of 0.19%. Overall, the national steel inventory has rebounded slightly in the last two consecutive weeks. The current inventory level is only 4.59% lower than the same period last year, and the inventory in some markets has exceeded the level of the same period last year. The data shows that recently affected by the large-scale high temperature and rainy weather across the country, the domestic steel market demand performance which was weak has been even more sluggish. Under the circumstance that the production reduction of steel mills is still not obvious, the pressure on the supply of inventories in various places has increased. Due to the increase in production reduction and maintenance by steel mills, the demand for raw materials has shrunk, and the price of raw materials is more likely to fall further in the later period. However, the short-term weakness of the shipping market is difficult to correct, and the cost support may continue to weaken this week. In addition to the fact that the demand for 316L stainless steel sheet is difficult to improve, the market capital pressure may not be relieved, and the new round of ten-day price reductions such as Shagang, steel mills have a bearish outlook on the market outlook, and business confidence is generally sluggish. On the whole, it is expected that steel prices may remain weak this week.

As the Spring Festival is approaching, the temperature in the south has dropped, the rain and snow weather has increased significantly, and the demand for downstream steel has been weak and accelerated. Most of the terminals are based on on-demand procurement. "The market has not improved. Therefore, while the supply is declining, the downstream demand for 316L stainless steel is also declining, and the market supply and demand continues to be in a weak and stable situation, which directly leads to the dilemma of steel prices, and continues to face directional choices. Years ago was a relatively volatile period. Whether steel mills or steel traders, their operations will closely follow market changes. Shagang’s strategy of lowering the ex-factory price of building materials this time may make the price continue to rise in the near future. Downhill, however, since the current profit is already low, so even if it falls, it is estimated that the magnitude will not be too large. Some analysts attributed the reasons to one being the impact of rising spot prices and the other being the impact of production cuts by steel mills. At that time, under the constraints of multiple factors such as power cuts in some areas of Hebei, year-end maintenance of steel plants and high iron ore costs, crude steel production was suppressed, especially for small steel mills. The production of building materials is mainly used. Therefore, some analysts speculate that due to the impact of production reduction, the shortage of 316L stainless steel plate market is more serious, and Shagang has the opportunity to increase the ex-factory price. As the overall trend of futures and electronic trading continues to be sluggish today, and it is currently relatively difficult to ship hot-dip galvanized square pipes, and the arrival rate of some markets is faster than the previous period, the contradiction between supply and demand is further intensified. Funds, thus forcing the merchants to accelerate the decline in quotations, especially the decline in the quotations of building materials.