Global nickel prices showed a slightly upward trend during past week. On March 01, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $8,680/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 439,932 mt.
During the past week, prices in the local Chinese domestic stainless steel market have mostly increased, while overall trading volume was better as compared to previous weeks. The positive signals observed in Chinese overall steel market, impacting stainless steel prices positively. Most traders are still focusing on reducing their inventories, while some traders offering small discounts. It is thought that prices in the Chinese local stainless steel market may increase slightly in the week ahead.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 10,100 | 1,542 | ↑300 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 6,000 | 916 | ↑150 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 11,700 | 1,786 | ↓50 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 11,200 | 1,710 | ↑100 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 6,750 | 1,031 | 0 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 6,100 | 931 | 0 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.55