China's domestic stainless steel market has mostly seen minor decreases in prices during the past week.
Global nickel prices indicate a decrease compared to one week ago. On May 28, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $19,500/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 280,524 mt.
The downward movement of global nickel prices in the past seven days has contributed to the decreases seen in the Chinese domestic stainless steel market during the same period. 304 series products have indicated smaller declines in prices as compared to the previous week, while prices of other stainless products have softened slightly, approaching the levels they were at before nickel prices started their recent strong upward movement. Traders state that demand has weakened due to the ongoing downtrend of prices, while sentiment among traders has become more pessimistic. The low demand volume and the need to bring in cash puts pressure on traders to lower their prices. For the coming week, it is thought that further slight price downticks may be seen in the Chinese domestic stainless steel market, while prices of some products may move sideways.