Stainless steel mills and ferro-chrome smelters in China are likely to curtail their production in June, should domestic stainless steel and ferro-chrome prices continue to weaken amid lingering poor demand and prevailing bearish sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets.
Some Chinese stainless steel mills, which are already suffering losses, may have to curtail part of their production next month if domestic stainless steel prices continue to decline, market sources said. "I heard that current prices have already led to losses among some stainless steel mills, especially those mainly dealing in the 200 series products, and I believe they will halt production either partially or wholly soon given the current market situation," a Chinese market source said. Chinese stainless steel mills currently produce 200, 300 and 400 series stainless steel products, Fastmarkets understands. Chinese stainless steel prices have been softening due to weak demand from the downstream market and many mills have found it hard to offload stocks at their plants as a result, according to sources. Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for benchmark...