Market News
Shanghai stainless steel ends below 15,000 yuan for fourth day
MANILA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Shanghai stainless steel futures settled below the 15,000 yuan per tonne level for the fourth straight session on Wednesday as concerns persisted over high inventory and weak demand in top producer China.
The front-month February 2020 stainless steel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at 14,930 yuan ($2,132.43) a tonne, little changed from Tuesday’s settlement price of 14,925 yuan.
The benchmark contract has declined 4.2% from its base price of 15,585 yuan set when it began trading on Sept. 25.
“Stainless steel inventory in China continued to hover at record-high level,” said Helen Lau, a metals and mining analyst at Argonaut Securities.
With plentiful supply and weak demand, she said many stainless steel producers were making losses, except those with integrated nickel pig iron (NPI) plants.
Chinese stainless steel producers mainly use NPI, a low-grade ferronickel and cheaper alternative to pure nickel, as feedstock.