SteelOrbis has been informed that as of July 14 ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $1,900-1,950/mt FOB, stable compared to July 7.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have increased by RMB 150 ($21.4/mt), providing solid support for stainless steel export prices.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have moved up sharply over the past week.
During the given week, metal futures prices and crude oil prices have indicated significant rises, exerting a positive impact on the domestic futures market. Demand for stainless steel has not seen any significant improvement, while market players have been seeking to raise their offer prices amid the appreciation of the Chinese currency, good expectations for the future market prospects and surging iron ore prices.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at RMB 13,590/mt ($1,941.4/mt) on Tuesday, July 14, increasing by RMB 175/mt ($25/mt) or 1.3 percent compared to RMB 13,415/mt on July 7.
$1 = RMB 6.9996