This week, the most-traded SS2503 futures contract showed a strong upward trend. On Wednesday (the eighth day of the Chinese New Year), the opening price was 13,330 yuan/mt, then climbed to a two-month high of 13,475 yuan/mt on Thursday, and finally closed at 13,420 yuan/mt on Friday. From a macro perspective, the latest executive order issued by the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, while increasing tariffs on Chinese goods to 10%. On the fundamentals side, despite the end of the holiday this week, market sentiment remained relatively subdued, with most downstream traders yet to resume production. After the Chinese New Year holiday, market inventory increased, but due to pre-holiday inventory buildup and delayed post-holiday shipments from steel mills, the growth in inventory was smaller than in previous years. Currently, market inventory is showing a slight accumulation, and it is expected that inventory growth will become more pronounced next week. In summary, the stainless steel market is still affected by the holiday effect, with weak downstream demand and limited market absorption capacity. On the macro side, Trump's tariff policy has not yet had a significant negative impact on the market, and its subsequent effects need further observation.
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