SteelOrbis has been informed that as of January 25 ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $3,100-3,200/mt FOB, moving sideways compared to January 18.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have remained stable.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have moved down sharply following previous rises. At the same time, most traders have left the spot market for the Chinese New Year holiday (January 31-February 6), resulting in rare offer prices being heard and slack demand. It is expected that stainless steel prices will move sideways in the coming week.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Future Exchange closed at RMB 17,080/mt ($2,694/mt) on Tuesday, January 25, decreasing by RMB 890/mt ($140.33/mt) or 4.95 percent compared to RMB 17,970/mt on January 181.
$1 = RMB 6.3418
