China's domestic stainless steel market has been mostly stable in the past week, but prices for 304 series products are slightly higher than one week ago, while overall activity in the market has remained sluggish.
Global nickel prices have followed a fluctuating trend during the past week, with prices now a little higher compared to one week ago. On December 9, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $16,540/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 406,248 mt.
The LME three-month nickel price first rose in the past week, but then softened at the end of the week. Accordingly, domestic stainless steel prices, especially for 304 series, increased slightly during the given week, though they saw a minor softening at the end of the week. Some small improvement was seen in activity when prices were rising, with some slight slackening of activity observed when prices were softening. Some traders are offering discounts in order to attract deals. It is expected that the domestic stainless steel market will continue to be characterized by a fluctuating trend in the coming week.