On January 8, stainless steel futures on the market showed a slight upward trend, while spot prices remained weak and stabilized at low levels, halting the downward trend. Coupled with a 200-yuan increase in 304 prices by east China steel mills, market sentiment improved, and a bullish outlook emerged after hitting bottom. In the morning, 304 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 12,800-13,000 yuan/mt, 304 hot-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 12,300-12,500 yuan/mt, 316L cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 23,600-23,800 yuan/mt, 201J1 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 7,400-7,700 yuan/mt, and 430 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 7,150-7,450 yuan/mt. At 10:30 a.m., the SHFE SS2503 contract price was 12,950 yuan/mt, with Wuxi stainless steel spot premiums ranging from 20 to 220 yuan/mt (spot trimmed edge = mill edge + 170 yuan/mt).
