Influenced by the decline in nickel prices, the Chinese domestic stainless market has generally followed a downward trend in the past week. with price decrease margins in a range of RMB 100-200/mt. ($613-1,126/mt) At the same time, the prices of some grades moved sideways in the given week.
Global nickel prices have indicated a sharp drop during the past week. On July 9, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $13,425/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 193,616 mt.
Amid the warm weather in July, most stainless steel producers will carry out overhaul work, with some of them having already commenced. Accordingly, production volumes as well as market inventory levels are expected to decline to some extent, and this will provide some support for market prices. It is believed that the Chinese domestic stainless steel market will indicate a stable trend during the coming week unless nickel prices register another significant decline.