With the slight downtrend in global nickel prices, the Chinese domestic stainless steel market has witnessed some decreases during the past week, in particular for 304 series stainless products, while prices of other grades mostly remained stable following the significant price declines recorded in previous weeks.
Global nickel prices have been fluctuating at around $15,000/mt, with prices down slightly compared to last week. On May 29, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $14,870/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 179,832 mt.
Some big domestic mills such as TISCO and Baosteel have reduced their stainless steel quotations for June in an effort to encourage traders to purchase materials. However, the trading volume during the past week has remained low. It is believed that, if nickel prices continue to soften in the coming week, domestic stainless steel prices will follow suit, but just with small decrease margins.