Stainless Steel Market Holds Firm Amid Volatility; Molybdenum Grades Lead Stronger Uptrend
The stainless steel market continued to fluctuate within a narrow but elevated range this morning, as nickel prices remained supported while downstream sentiment stayed cautious and selective.
LME nickel temporarily hovered around USD 18,900–19,200/MT, while the SHFE nickel contract traded near RMB 145,000–147,000/MT. At the same time, SHFE stainless steel futures displayed mixed intraday movements, with broader weakness emerging after 10 AM, reflecting the market's ongoing uncertainty and sensitivity toward macro sentiment and speculative positioning.
In the spot market, 304 stainless steel cold-rolled coils in both Wuxi and Foshan maintained relatively firm offers following yesterday's rebound. However, behind the stable quotations, suppliers remained highly flexible in actual negotiations, especially for transaction-oriented orders. The market is currently characterized by a coexistence of "price support" and "selective concessions," revealing that confidence has improved, but demand recovery remains uneven.
Hot-rolled 5-foot plate resources also maintained mainstream pricing levels, though specification-based price gaps and special offers continue to appear frequently. This indicates that while mills and traders are reluctant to aggressively lower prices, inventory pressure and weak transaction visibility still require tactical flexibility to stimulate purchasing activity.
The 201 stainless segment remained comparatively stable, with both hot-rolled and cold-rolled products seeing localized discounts. Despite many suppliers attempting to maintain firm asking prices, actual market competition continues to rely heavily on concessions and negotiated pricing to secure orders. Overall shipment willingness across the market remains strong, highlighting that volume recovery has yet to fully match the recent rise in raw material costs.
More notably, molybdenum-bearing grades such as 316L and duplex 2205 have entered a significantly stronger upward cycle. Supported by aggressive increases in molybdenum raw material costs, many suppliers have either sharply raised prices or temporarily suspended quotations altogether. Compared with the relatively cautious atmosphere surrounding 304 and 201, the molybdenum series is currently experiencing a more structurally driven rally rather than purely speculative momentum.
From an industry perspective, the current market environment reflects a transitional phase rather than a fully established bullish cycle.
While raw material costs, particularly nickel and molybdenum, continue to provide strong support underneath the market, downstream purchasing behavior remains pragmatic and highly price-sensitive. Buyers are still concentrating transactions on competitively priced resources, while higher-priced inventories often face slower movement and reduced inquiry activity.
This divergence between cost pressure and actual consumption is creating an increasingly fragmented market structure:
Futures remain volatile.
Spot quotations appear firm.
Actual transactions remain selective.
Special pricing continues to coexist with aggressive price support.
In the short term, stainless steel prices are likely to remain resilient with flexible fluctuations, particularly as raw material dynamics, macroeconomic sentiment, and speculative fund movements continue to influence market direction simultaneously.
For now, the market is not weak, but neither is it fully confident. The current phase is better described as a "cost-supported consolidation" rather than a straightforward bullish breakout.
