China's domestic
stainless steel market has returned to a sideways trend during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have indicated a significant rebound during the past week. On July 1, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $19,125/mt, compared to $18,180/mt one week earlier, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 305,256 mt.
In the past week,
China's domestic
stainless steel market has switched to sideways movement from the declining trend seen in the previous week. Trading activity in the market has remained at low levels despite the uptrend of nickel prices. Sentiment among downstream buyers is still weak and they are purchasing only in line with their needs. At present, traders do not want to build up their stocks. For the coming week, it is believed that the Chinese
stainless steel market may remain on its stable trend, while buyers in the market may maintain a wait-and-see stance for a while.