Prices of 304 series products in China’s domestic stainless steel market have increased in the past week, while prices of other products have either moved sideways or declined.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated up slightly during the past week. On June 7, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $8,580/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 396,498 mt.
Influenced by the upticks in nickel prices, domestic 304 series product prices have increased in the past week. In the meantime, some product prices have declined due to the overall slack activity in the market amid adverse weather conditions. The main problem in the market is the weakness of trading activity. Nickel prices are not expected to fluctuate by large margins in the coming period. In the week ahead, it is expected that domestic stainless steel prices may just indicated slight fluctuations.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 10,300 | 1,575 | 0 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 6,600 | 1,009 | ↓400 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 12,500 | 1,911 | ↑100 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 12,100 | 1,850 | ↑100 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 7,150 | 1,093 | ↓100 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 6,400 | 979 | 0 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.57