SteelOrbis has been informed that as of August 4 ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $1,950-2,000/mt FOB, moving up by $50/mt compared to July 27.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have increased by RMB 200 ($28.7/mt), providing solid support for stainless steel export prices.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have edged up over the past week.
During the given week, stainless steel has been in short supply and so steelmakers have raised their ex-works prices and some have even been unwilling to sell. At the same time, stainless steel producers have chosen to build up ferronickel stocks, bolstering the prices of the raw material, in turn supporting stainless steel prices. Moreover, stainless steel futures prices have seen an overall rising trend in the given week, exerting a positive impact on prices in the spot market.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at RMB 14,155 /mt ($2,028/mt) on Tuesday, August 4, increasing by RMB 370/mt ($53/mt) or 2.7 percent compared to RMB 13,785/mt on July 28.
$1 = RMB 6.9803
