China’s domestic stainless steel prices have continued their mostly stable trend during the past week.
Global nickel prices have followed an upward trend during the past week. On February 9, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $18,370/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 249,948 mt.
Domestic stainless steel prices have continued their mostly stable trend during the past week as the Chinese New Year is about to start and most downstream buyers have already exited the market ahead of the holiday. Market inventory levels have increased since trading activity has almost come to a standstill. As for the week after the holiday, considering nickel prices still provide strong support for stainless steel prices but also taking into account that demand for stainless steel may recover slowly, it is believed that stainless steel prices in China may just indicate small fluctuations.
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
11,150 |
1,732 |
0 |
7 |
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,250 |
1,281 |
0 |
6 |
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,350 |
2,539 |
0 |
11 |
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,550 |
2,570 |
0 |
11 |
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
10,150 |
1,576 |
0 |
7 |
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
9,000 |
1,398 |
200 |
37 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.439
