Stainless steel prices in the Chinese domestic market are at the same levels as one week ago, despite fluctuations during the past week, while trading activity in the market has remained slack.
Global nickel prices have continued to fluctuate on an upward trend during the past week. On December 17, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $14,060/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 255,552 mt.
Domestic
stainless steel prices in
China moved on an upward trend during the early part of the past week, boosted by the rise in nickel prices, with the upward movement especially noticeable for 304 series
stainless steel. However, amid a lack of support on the demand side and low confidence levels, in the latter part of the past week
stainless steel prices in
China dropped back down to the same levels as one week ago. It is expected that Chinese domestic
stainless steel prices will follow a stable trend in the coming week, and that no significant change will be seen in trading activity before the end of December.