China’s domestic stainless steel market has indicated both uptick and downticks in prices during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated on a downward trend during the past week. On May 10, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $8,700/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 414,714 mt.
In the past week, prices of 304 series stainless steel products in the Chinese domestic market have indicated a softening amid lower nickel prices, while prices of 400 series products have risen on the back of low inventories. Overall trading activity is still weak following previous strong price increases. It is believed that domestic stainless steel prices may move on a mostly stable trend in the coming week, with some minor fluctuations also possible.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 10,300 | 1,582 | 0 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 6,800 | 1,045 | 0 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 13,300 | 2,043 | ↓100 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 13,050 | 2,005 | ↓100 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 7,350 | 1,129 | ↑100 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 6,400 | 983 | ↑300 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.51