Global nickel prices have fluctuated during the past week. On January 19, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $19,735/mt, up slightly week on week, while nickel inventory at the LME totaled 91,788 mt.
China's stainless steel market has remained stable in the past week. Most traders expect to see increased volumes of spot stainless steel supplies arriving at Chinese ports after the Spring Festival holiday. If downstream demand continues to remain slack, stainless steel prices will probably going down, and so many traders do not have much confidence as regards the prospects for the post-holiday domestic stainless steel market. However, on the positive side, traders state that availability of funds is not as tight as before. Stainless steel prices in China are not expected to change during the holiday next week.