Asia

The stainless steel market has remained weak across Asia since our previous Mirror report in May. A wait-and-see attitude has been adopted in global trading owing to the impact of US tariffs and ongoing geopolitical conflicts. As a result, Asian demand is unlikely to improve until tariff outcomes are clearer.

In the second quarter of 2025, Taiwan’s mills offered weak demand for stainless steel scrap. Semi-product hot coils and nickel pig iron remained competitive, and traditional sectors continued to show low demand. Imports of hot coil averaged 85,000 tonnes per month to May. Taiwan’s stainless scrap demand is expected to remain weak in the third quarter.

South Korea’s stainless steel scrap demand was weak in the second quarter. But with major mills’ furnaces back online, the current quarter is expected to be stable, with South Korea likely to be the only country in northern Asia displaying stronger demand for stainless steel scrap. Mills in Taiwan have been trying to push down scrap buying prices amid high levels of pressure to sell their finished stainless goods.

Japan’s domestic consumption of stainless scrap remains steady while its exports have dropped to low levels when compared to previous years as local mills are increasingly using domestic material and are expected to continue with this trend. Another reason for the decline in exports is that logistics costs have risen along with reduced sailings.

The market in China remained weak after tariff disputes began in April. Following multiple stimulus packages, the housing sector finally appears to have halted its decline and is levelling off. Reports are circulating of China’s stainless mills finally cutting production, but it will take some time for stock levels to be reduced.

The price of stainless steel coil in China has been fluctuating within a narrow range, with 304 grade coil futures in Shanghai reaching a recent high of approximately US$ 13,200 per tonne in May before retreating to a low of US$ 12,300 in late June and then recovering to US$ 12,700 in early July.

India’s stainless steel scrap market has been extremely slow and seems to be experiencing one of its lowest periods this year. Imports have been reduced substantially and the outlook seems very weak, mainly because of the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and their effects on exports of finished goods from India. Meanwhile, we are also seeing higher imports of substitute products in the form of bulk vessel loads and containerised shipments of nickel pig iron and ferro-nickel. Imports of billets, blooms and semi-finished goods have also been rising, thus significantly impacting scrap imports.

The cause of concern is not the volume of imports of these materials but rather that they make finished goods via the scrap route more expensive, thereby impacting scrap imports. The scrap route is not only more costly but also time-consuming compared to the use of billets, blooms, semis, ferro-nickel and nickel pig iron.

The government has implemented Bureau of Indian Standards for imports of finished goods in order to protect its domestic industry, but these new rules and guidelines are going to take a while to be fully imposed. Until then, plants manufacturing stainless goods will be experiencing a lot of pressure and uncertainty amid the weaker global outlook.

The last month or two have also seen an increase in container freight and logistics costs. There has been a reduction in the volume of container movements from China to Europe and the USA, forcing shipping lines to reduce their sailings and causing freight rates to climb significantly. Container freight rates have also risen within Asia, especially for vessels sailing to Indian ports.

Overall, the first half of 2025 was very challenging but hopes are more positive for the rest of the year.