Futures show a mildly bullish oscillation; trading in stainless steel remains light before Qingming Festival.

The futures market shows a slightly strong oscillation trend. The Shanghai nickel led the stainless steel futures market to halt its decline and turn stronger, closing at 14,235 yuan/ton by midday. In the spot market, although SS futures have stopped falling and rebounded, the overall increase is limited, and the boost to the spot market is not obvious; coupled with the upcoming Qingming holiday, the overall trading atmosphere is quiet, and traders mainly quote prices steadily. The main contract of SS futures has stopped falling and strengthened. At 10:15 a.m., SS2605 was quoted at 14,150 yuan/ton, up 40 yuan/ton from the previous trading day. In Wuxi, the spot premium/discount for 304/2B is in the range of 270-470 yuan/ton. In the spot market, the average price of Wuxi cold-rolled 201/2B coils remains flat; cold-rolled rough edge 304/2B coils, Wuxi average price remains flat; Foshan average price remains steady; Wuxi cold-rolled 316L/2B coils remain flat; hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils, Wuxi quotes remain flat; cold-rolled 430/2B coils in Wuxi and Foshan are both steady. Currently, the stainless steel market is in the traditional peak season of “March to April,” with downstream demand showing some recovery compared to earlier, and terminal procurement continuing with just-in-time needs. Overall transaction volume is sufficient to support market vitality. However, affected by macro news and futures fluctuations, downstream end customers remain cautious, with no willingness to stockpile, and transactions fluctuate with news developments. ( Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network )