Shanghai exchange plans to launch stainless steel, scrap futures

[SHANGHAI] The Shanghai Futures Exchange is planning to launch futures products for stainless steel and scrap steel in a bid to provide instruments for market participants to hedge risks, a bourse official said on Friday.

The exchange is also planning to launch scrap futures, Chen Ye, a manager at the Shanghai exchange, said at an industry conference. He did not give a timeline for both futures.

The exchange launched futures for nickel, the raw material used in making stainless steel, in March 2015.

At the same conference, Wang Liqun, vice chairman, China Iron and Steel Association, encouraged Chinese steel mills to trade steel futures to hedge risks and not speculate.

"Especially with the steel market downturn, mills should rationally use steel futures to hedge and control risks," he said. "We hope (the regulator) will increase oversight of the futures market, complete the related regulations and laws and regulate trading order and curb overspeculation," Wang Liqun added.

A surge in Shanghai rebar steel futures in April, pinned largely on speculative investors, spurred a rally in other Chinese commodities from iron ore to cotton and prompted exchanges to impose measures to fight speculation.

REUTERS