China's domestic stainless steel market has mostly moved on a stable trend in the past week, though with slight upticks observed in prices of certain products.
Global nickel prices have rebounded strongly in the past seven days. On January 14, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $14,340/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 261,372 mt.
With Indonesia's export ban on raw materials expected to impact nickel supplies, the LME three-month nickel price has rebounded in the past week, rising by over $800/mt week on week. However, the strong increase in nickel prices has not greatly influenced Chinese domestic stainless steel prices, with only prices of 304 series materials moving up slightly. Trading in the domestic stainless steel market is still slack, as in previous weeks. Traders state that they are not planning to build up their inventories and are even considering reducing their orders. Activity is gradually becoming more sluggish at the Spring Festival holiday approaches, For the coming week, China's domestic stainless steel market is expected to mainly follow a stable trend, though some upticks may be witnessed if nickel prices continue to rise.