China’s domestic stainless steel market has mostly moved on a declining trend during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated on a downward trend in the past week. On May 30, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $9,080mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 380,292 mt.
The downward trend of the local Chinese stainless steel market during the past week has been due to soft nickel prices, the ongoing sluggishness of trading activity and the approach of the end of the month. Stainless steel producers are trying to keep their prices despite the weakness of trading activity, though traders have been willing to offer discounts or reduce their prices in order to attract more business as the end of the month draws closer. As for the coming week, it is believed that the domestic stainless steel market will continue to be characterized by a slightly soft tendency though producers want to keep their quotations firm by limiting production. It is thought that the domestic stainless steel market will be characterized by greater stability in the coming week, with slight reductions in prices possible.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,000 | 1,324 | ↓300 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 7,500 | 1,103 | ↓300 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 13,600 | 2,000 | ↓200 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 14,800 | 2,176 | ↓400 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 7,700 | 1,132 | 0 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 7,900 | 1,162 | 0 |
17 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.80