In the past week, China's stainless steel market first moved on an uptrend, before starting to drop down near the end of the week. While some significant reductions were seen, most prices remained stable or were slightly up.
Global nickel prices have been fluctuating at around $16,000/mt during the past week. while prices are now slightly down compared to one week ago. On September 4, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $16,135/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 119,724 mt.
Inventory levels in China's stainless steel market are low, while trading activity in the market remains slack volumes. Nickel prices in China are still characterized by weakness. Certain traders have already started to reduce their prices in actual deals. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the autumn months traders are expected to receive new arrivals of stainless materials they previously ordered. For the coming week, it is thought that there is a strong possibility of further price decreases in the Chinese stainless steel market.