The end of November has arrived and the time for bidding and procurement by major steel mills to supply AISI 201 high chromium stainless steel in December is approaching, which has once again attracted increased attention from the industry.
Under the influence of this, the wait-and-see atmosphere in the high-grade chrome market has recently intensified, and prices have stabilized. Since the middle of the month, the main factory prices for high-grade chrome have continued to remain stable at 8300-8500 yuan per 50 base tons.
As the steady upward trend in chrome prices continues, the decline in chrome ore prices in sheet buy AISI 201 has also slowed, maintaining high production levels. The spot price for 40-42% of South African chrome ore remained at 58 yuan per ton, and the price at 40-42 Turkish block ore % remained stable at 67 yuan per ton.
However, coke prices have increased recently. It is reported that there have been many accidents in coal mines recently, and the rise in coking coal prices has caused steel mills in the northern region to increase the purchase price of coke by 100-110 yuan per ton.
The overall cost of producing high chromium products has increased, and the high cost of high chromium products has reduced the willingness of plants to supply products at low prices, and the decline in retail market prices has been limited.
And with the advent of steelmaking hiring in December, the high-chrome industry's wait-and-see attitude has intensified, with market deals rare and supply and demand at a relative standstill.
In November, the prices of major steel mills with high chromium content fell by 300 yuan/50 base tons, and the purchasing price of major steel mills was concentrated at 8495-8695 yuan/50 base tons.
Instead of being finalized, the retail market price of unqualified stainless steel buy AISI 201 did not stop the rate of decline and continued to decline, resulting in the current retail market price of high chromium steel being significantly lower than the price of ordinary steel. In addition, high-grade chrome steel mills maintained strong production levels in November, and cost supply pressure in the high-chrome market remained unchanged, but demand for follow-on purchases weakened due to the pace of production reductions by stainless steel mills.
Overall, while high chromium prices have continued to remain stable recently, the weakness in high chromium prices hasn't really changed. The market industry generally expects high chromium prices to still be significantly reduced in December, the range may be around RMB 200-300/50 base tons.
