On July 5, stainless steel futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at CNY14,230/ton, an increase of CNY10/ton. The total increased by CNY185 for the week, or 1.3%. This marks two consecutive weeks of gains, with a mid-week peak of CNY14,285/ton.

Market participants noted that futures remained strong, and Tsingshan's 304 product saw a mid-week price increase of around CNY100. Additionally, the steel plant's July output is expected to be lower than in June, improving market sentiment and trading volume. As a result, spot prices strengthened last week.

Despite this, the demand in China's stainless steel market remains weak, with downstream customers primarily making purchases in demand. The significant increase in LME nickel inventory is impacting nickel prices. However, expectations of US interest rate cuts have provided support for nickel prices. Coupled with anticipated positive policies from the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, stainless steel is expected to experience a strong and volatile trend in the short term.