Tsingshan Profile Price Update — July 24: 304 Bar Holds at 14,150 CNY/ton, Wire Rod Steadies

According to the latest quotes released by the 51bxg profile channel on July 24, mainstream Tsingshan profile products continued to hold their previous prices, showing an overall "steady and stable" pattern. From a regional perspective, the two major quoting bases of Wenzhou and Wuxi remained highly consistent in pricing, with no cross-regional price spreads appearing — a sign that the market is still in a wait-and-see period.

Specifically, 304 bar in the mainstream Φ65 specification was quoted at 14,150 CNY/ton in Wenzhou and 14,200 CNY/ton in Wuxi, flat with July 23. 316L bar in the same specification was quoted at 28,500 CNY/ton in both Wenzhou and Wuxi, with no fluctuation for several consecutive days. For wire rod, Tsingshan 304 wire rod Φ5.5 in Da'nan stood at 15,000 CNY/ton, while 316L wire rod Φ5.5 in Da'nan stood at 30,200 CNY/ton, with mainstream quotes remaining unchanged.

In the structural section segment, Tsingshan 304 angle steel 40×40×4 in Wuxi was quoted at 15,035 CNY/ton, and 304 channel steel 5# in Wuxi was quoted at 15,035 CNY/ton, basically in line with the July 23 data. The stability of mainstream structural section quotes is a typical sign that the profile market has entered the "end-of-off-season, waiting for peak-season demand" phase.

From a market sentiment standpoint, profile quotes have been stuck in a "stalemate" for two consecutive weeks. On one hand, mills are unwilling to actively cut prices under the influence of earlier price-support strategies; on the other hand, downstream demand during the late off-season remains modest, with orders being mostly small-volume, just-in-time purchases, lacking concentrated surges. This triangular pattern of "mills unwilling to cut, traders afraid to stockpile, end-users buying on demand" makes it difficult for spot quotes to break upward or downward.

It is worth noting that this week, LME nickel prices overall oscillated in the 16,500-17,200 USD/ton range, the waste stainless steel night session fell 70 CNY/ton, and the stainless steel main contract traded in the 14,400-14,900 CNY/ton range. Although the raw material side has shown some loosening signals, the spot market has remained relatively insensitive to this, with mills' willingness to support prices remaining firm in the short term.

Looking ahead, mainstream profile quotes are expected to remain stable from late July to early August. On one hand, orders have not yet been released in concentrated fashion at the end of the off-season; on the other hand, the market has entered a "waiting for peak-season validation" phase, with medium- and long-term factors such as mill production cuts and overseas anti-dumping extensions intertwined. Downstream users purchasing 304, 316L bar, wire rod, structural sections and other products are advised to stock up reasonably based on their own order cycles, and to consider locking in prices in advance for scarce specifications whose quotes remain at sustained high levels.