In the past week, China’s domestic stainless steel market has halted its upward trend, while slight decreases have been observed in some product prices, with some prices unchanged week on week.
Global nickel prices have moved on a fluctuating trend in the past week, rising slightly week on week. On November 22, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $11,360/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 367,482 mt.
During the past week, support for domestic stainless steel prices has been weak given the decreases seen in prices of iron ore, coke and other steel products. In this context, traders have been seeking to sell as many products as possible. However, due to high-cost inventories, some product prices have remained unchanged. Meanwhile, downstream buyers are maintaining a wait-and-see stance. Domestic stainless steel prices in China are expected to move on a soft trend in the week ahead.
Specification (mm) |
Region |
Steel plant/origin |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) |
Foshan/Lecong |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
10,100 |
1,464 |
0 |
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Foshan/Lecong |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,500 |
1,232 |
0 |
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Wuxi |
Taigang |
16,700 |
2,420 |
0 |
304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Wuxi |
Taigang |
16,750 |
2,428 |
↓250 |
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Wuxi |
Taigang |
9,600 |
1,391 |
↓100 |
430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Wuxi |
Krupp |
7,800 |
1,130 |
0 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.90