China’s domestic stainless steel market has seen both increases and decreases in prices during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated on an upward trend during the past week. On June 27, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $9,260mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 374,634 mt.
Overall trading activity in the domestic stainless market has remained sluggish during the past week amid relatively high price levels and bad weather conditions. Some product prices have continued to increase with the support of higher nickel prices, while other stainless steel product prices have softened amid rising inventories and tighter liquidity among traders as the end of the month approaches. As for the coming week, it is thought that domestic stainless steel prices will indicate minor fluctuations, with slight reductions in prices possible.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,300 | 1,368 | ↓ 100 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 7,800 | 1,147 | ↓ 100 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 13,600 | 2,000 | ↓ 500 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 14,400 | 2,118 | ↑200 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 8,000 | 1,176 | ↑100 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 8,200 | 1,206 | 0 |
17 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.80