According to sources in the stainless steel market, South Korean traders indicate that, if nickel prices continue to decline and fall below the $17,000/mt threshold, demand for stainless steel will weaken further in the local South Korean market. At present, Chinese and Taiwanese offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness to East Asia are in the range of $2,700-2,800/mt CIF.
Regarding nickel prices, the cash and settlement price at the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was at $18,433/mt on September 2, has continued its declining trend over the past 21 days, falling by a total of $1,298/mt. Nickel prices have decreased at a faster rate over the past one week, closing at $17,135/mt on September 23.