China's stainless steel market has seen some decreases amid the softening of nickel prices in recent days.
Global nickel prices have softened during the last few days. On February 19, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $17,499/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 116,624 mt.
While LME nickel prices have seen a significant decline in the past few days, the prices are still $1,200/mt higher compared to before China's Spring Festival holiday. The new downtrend has negatively influenced domestic stainless steel prices in China, particularly prices of 304 grade materials. At the same time, the prices of some stainless steel grades have remained stable. The decreases observed in China's stainless steel market have not contributed to any improvement in demand. It is believed that further downticks will be seen in China's stainless steel market in the coming days, though uncertainty surrounds the likely trend of the market in the longer term.