China's domestic stainless market mostly moved on a stable trend during the past seven days with only 304 series seeing some decreases amid softer nickel prices.
Global nickel prices have generally fluctuated on a downward trend during the past week. On April 24, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $15,255/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 175,860 mt.
Market observers consider that prices in China's stainless steel market have mostly remained stable in the past week despite the weakness of nickel prices on account of the excessively large decreases in stainless steel prices witnessed previously. According to market sources, traders' stocks are at low levels and they are only purchasing when necessary. Meanwhile, the softness of nickel prices has caused the downstream side to maintain a wait-and-see stance. It is thought that in the coming week China's domestic stainless steel prices will remain at low levels and may possibly indicate a downward trend.