China’s domestic stainless steel market has mostly followed a stable trend in the past seven days, with some slight upticks also observed.
Global nickel prices have indicated a fluctuating trend during the past week, while closing prices are higher compared to one week earlier. On March 22, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $8,790/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 431,148 mt.
While the Chinese domestic stainless steel market has mostly moved sideways in the past week, though some prices have risen slightly on the back of the increases in nickel prices. Overall trading activity has been at normal levels. Traders are still focusing on their sales and may offer certain discounts during transactions. It is believed that domestic stainless steel prices will remain mostly stable in the week ahead.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,800 | 1,505 | 0 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 6,000 | 922 | ↑50 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 12,000 | 1,843 | 0 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 11,800 | 1,813 | ↑100 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 6,750 | 1,037 | 0 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 6,100 | 937 | 0 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.51