China’s Tianjin stainless steel market is expected to be weak in January, said Xing Zhongying, President of Tianjin Stainless Steel Association. In 2020, transaction volume at Tianjin SS market decreased to 57,030mt, down by 21.64pc from a year ago. Transaction value was CNY842.5mn ($130.45mn) down by 23.68pc from 2019.
In December, the market’s transaction volume fell by 32.03pc from November to 3,480mt, while the value dropped by 30.96pc to CNY52.4mn.
Stainless steel producers have maintained high supply to satisfy market demand and traders are cautious and a bit pessimistic about the market outlook, said Zhongying. He added that SS prices are weak, while there is room and momentum for a rally in raw materials such as ferronickel and nickel ore. The market will continue to remain weak in January 2021 as it was in December.
In December, stainless steel profiles (bars) were the top-selling variety with sales volumes of 1,190mt, down by 19.05pc from November and accounting for 34.19pc of the market’s total sales. The transaction value of SS profiles was CNY16.8mn, down by 18.05pc from the prior month. The second top-selling variety was SS plates with sales volume of 1,030mt, down by 37.95pc and accounting for 29.59pc of total sales, followed sales of stainless steel pipes at 920mt, down by 35.66pc and accounting for 26.44pc of December sales.
($1=CNY6.45)