China’s stainless steel market continues to see slight decline

During the week ending November 8, the nickel quotations have continued to follow a downtrend in Chinese domestic non-ferrous metal market. As of November 7, the closing offer of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) stood at $18,625/mt. Meanwhile, LME nickel stocks continued to slide down, decreasing to 85,056 mt. In this context, the spot price in the domestic nickel market has dropped. As of November 8, nickel spot offers from China-based Jinchuan Group reached $21,867/mt, down $459/mt week on week.

Currently, the stainless steel market is observing a continued declining trend, and some stainless traders had to transfer their business from stainless steel to some other fields due to the limited profit margins in the market. The increasingly cautious steel mills and buyers are more sensitive to the market than before. Most end-users make purchases according to the order on hand, and try to lower the stock of raw materials to reduce the risk of prices dropping. Overall, it is expected that stainless steel prices in China will probably continue to drop slightly in the coming week.