China's domestic stainless steel market has moved on an overall downward trend during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have fluctuated on a decreasing trend during the past week. On May 9, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $9,215mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 380,718 mt.
The declines in nickel prices have contributed to the downward movement of the domestic stainless steel market during the past week, while trading activity for stainless steel has remained weak amid the ongoing declines seen in prices. Downstream buyers have mostly chosen to adopt a wait-and-see stance. It is believed that domestic stainless steel prices may resume stable movement if nickel prices stop moving down, but, if the nickel prices decline further, then stainless steel prices may continue their downward trend.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,400 | 1,362 | ↓300 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan/Lecong | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 8,000 | 1,159 | ↓100 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 14,000 | 2,029 | ↓300 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 16,000 | 2,319 | ↓300 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 7,950 | 1,152 | ↓250 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 8,200 | 1,188 | ↓200 |
17 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.90