China's domestic stainless steel market has mostly moved on a downward trend during the past seven days. Average stainless steel prices in the local Chinese market can be viewed in the SteelOrbis price reports section.
Global nickel prices have indicated a significant decline during the past week. On June 24, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $18,180/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 304,602 mt.
The declines in the Chinese domestic stainless market in the given week have been due mainly to the significant decreases in nickel prices. Meanwhile, overall trading activity in the stainless steel market has not been boosted by the lower price levels but still remains sluggish. At the same time, the downward movement of stainless steel prices has been limited by the low inventory levels seen among traders. Given the weakness of nickel prices, traders are not very confident on the prospects for the stainless steel market in the coming period. Chinese domestic stainless steel prices are expected to be also characterized by a soft trend in the coming week, even though low inventory levels among traders will continue to limit the downward movement of prices.