China stainless steel hits nine-month high as local demand recovers.

Chinese stainless steel Futures rose on Monday, hitting their highest level in over nine months as domestic demand continued to recover after Covid-19 related shutdowns.

The Most-traded stainless steel futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for June delivery, rose to 4.4% before ending the session 4.0% higher at 13,675 yuan ($1,931.55) a tonne, the highest since August 1.
“The purchasing demand in downstream sectors (for stainless steel) has been good,” said Fu Zhiwen, an analyst with Huatai Futures.
“There had been concerns about an export impact on consumption, but not noticeably affected so far.”
Apart from a revival in demand, the price also climbed on concerns about the supply of raw materials such as chrome and nickel, according to a contact at a stainless steel maker who asked not to be named.

The top two miners in the Philippines have gradually resumed mining and shipping operations since May after coronavirus-led disruptions. However, the trader said output was still lower compared to a year earlier.
Other steel futures on the Shanghai exchange market were range-bound, together with the October contract of construction rebar dipping 0.1% to 3,452 yuan a tonne while hot-rolled coil climbed up 0.03% to 3,329 yuan for a sixth straight session of gains.
China’s monthly car sales rose for the first time in two years in April as authorities loosened restrictions, and more customers visited car showrooms after the economy began to open up.

FUNDAMENTALS

• Benchmark iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, dropped down 0.3% to 630 yuan a tonne.
• Spot prices of iron ore with 62% iron content for shipping to China climbed to $89.3 a tonne on Friday. [SH-CCN-IRNOR62]
• Dalian coking coal dropped 1.2% to 1,081 yuan per tonne, and coke lost 1.5% to 1,726 yuan a tonne.
• Over 4.03 million people are reported to be infected with the novel coronavirus globally, and 277,092 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
• Brazil’s Vale SA sees a “vigorous” economic rebound in China, the iron ore miner’s principal export market, Chief Financial Officer Luciano Siani said during an online event hosted by newspaper Valor Economico on Friday.
• China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd increased hot-rolled coil prices for June delivery by 50 yuan per tonne and kept cold-rolled products unchanged.
• Local governments in China issued 286.8 billion yuan ($40.55 billion) worth of bonds in April, of which 120.2 billion yuan have been in new bonds, and 166.6 billion yuan were refinanced, as shown by a statement by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday.
• China’s central bank said it reduced Interest rates on its standing lending facility (SLF) in April, catching up with similar reductions in other liquidity tools as part of Beijing’s effort to support the coronavirus-hit economy.