Having mostly recorded declines in the past three weeks, global nickel quotations have continued their downtrend this week. Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME), which were at $19,000/mt on June 5, were at $18,030/mt for cash settlements on June 12. Stainless steel prices in China this week have either moved down or trended sideways, while activity has slowed down and traders show willingness to negotiate on their prices, as they are pessimistic on the prospects for the market.
The softening in nickel prices has been reflected in import stainless steel offers to Turkey from China. Chinese offers to Turkey for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness are at $2,800-2,900/mt CIF, down by $100/mt since last week. Meanwhile, Taiwanese offers to Turkey for the same materials are unchanged at $3,100-3,200/mt CIF Turkey. However, considering the downtrend of nickel prices and the softening of Chinese offers, in the coming week Taiwanese prices will likely move downward as well.