SteelOrbis has been informed that as of May 26, ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $1,850-1,900/mt FOB, moving sideways compared to May 19.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have moved up slightly by RMB 50/mt ($7/mt), providing certain support to stainless steel export prices.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have continued the fluctuating trend within a limited range over the past week.
During the given week, sales have become weak in Wuxi and Foshan, which are major stainless steel markets of China, signaling the slack demand from downstream users. Meanwhile, the Coronavirus pandemic worldwide weakened the demand for stainless steel in global market, which will exert a negative impact on its prices. Moreover, the ferronickel and ferrochrome prices have been firm, shrinking the profitability of stainless steel producers, also negatively affecting prospect for the future market.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange closed at RMB 13,250/mt ($1,858.5/mt) on Tuesday, May 26, decreasing by RMB 205/mt ($29/mt) or 1.52 percent compared to RMB 13,455/mt on May 19.
$1 = RMB 7.1293
