China’s domestic stainless steel market has been mostly stable during the past seven days, though prices of 200 series products have softened slightly.
Global nickel prices have indicated very minor downticks in the past week. On April 4, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $9,980mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 374,964 mt.
With nickel prices just indicating slight fluctuations, domestic stainless steel prices have become more stable in the past week. Overall trading activity is at normal levels, supported by previous reductions in prices, which are now considered to be at relatively low levels. As for the coming week, traders are unlikely to reduce their prices significantly as they are not under pressure to bring in funds, while it is believed that the market will follow a stable trend.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 10,100 | 1,466 | ↓100 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,150 | 1,328 | ↓100 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 15,500 | 2,25 | 0 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 16,900 | 2,453 | 0 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 8,600 | 1,248 | 0 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 9,100 | 1,321 | 0 |
17 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.89