SHANGHAI, Jun 1 (SMM) - In Wuxi and Foshan markets, stainless steel spot prices dropped slightly. The benchmark prices of #304 stainless steel fell by another 100 yuan/mt to around 19,100 yuan/mt. The prices of #304 deburred edge were around 20,000 yuan/mt, while the market saw more shipments of hot-rolled coils as the quotes stood at 18,800-18,900 yuan/mt. At present, the price spread between the cold-rolled coils and hot-rolled coils is repaired. Tsingshan Group lowered the prices yesterday. Although Delong stopped quoting, the traded price still dropped. Last week, the inventory decreased. According to SMM research, the arrival slowed down. Steel mills held firm to the prices as they still got plenty of in-plant inventories of finished products that were produced by the high-priced raw materials. If the prices drop sharply, the steel mills will suffer losses. In June, some steel mills will begin their mid-year overhaul, so the output may not increase much compared with that in May. The market is uncertain about when the dropping of stainless steel prices will come to an end, and traders mainly hold a pessimistic outlook for the recovery of consumption. On the cost side, the prices of NPI and ferrochrome dropped from high, and the cost support was weakened by the supply surplus in China. The import volume did not increase sharply due to the long-term orders of ferronickel of steel mills and the problem of pricing method even though the import window has opened for several days. As for the stainless steel scrap, the supply was still limited. Prices of #304 cold-rolled coils moved between 19,300-19,500 yuan/mt, and the prices of #304 hot-rolled coils stood at 18,800-19,400 yuan/mt. In the early trading, quotes of 316L/2B were 30,600-30,900 yuan/mt. As of 10:30 a.m., the prices of the SHFE SS 2207 contract stood at 18,305 yuan/mt, and the stainless steel spot premiums in Wuxi were 1,165-1,365 yuan/mt. (Spot price of deburred edge products = Spot price of burr edge products + 170 yuan/mt). 

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