China's domestic
stainless steel market has mostly been stable in the past week, though some small downticks have also been seen.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated on a downward trend in the past seven days. On January 7, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $13,515/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 260,724 mt.
In the first week of 2014, there has been a slight improvement in trading activity in the Chinese domestic
stainless steel market, but there is still no sign of stock replenishment activity. Traders are still focusing on sales in order to bring in funds and pay off debts and they are trying to keep inventories at low levels for now. Most market players will halt business activities around January 20-23 ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. Due to the weakness of nickel prices and slow trading activity, Chinese domestic
stainless steel prices are expected to soften in the coming week.