SteelOrbis has been informed that as of January 19 ex-China stainless steel coil export prices are at $2,300-2,350/mt FOB, edging up by $50/mt compared to January 12.
During the given week, local stainless steel prices from Shanxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd have moved up by RMB 300/mt ($46/mt), exerting a positive impact on stainless steel export prices.
Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have increased in the given week.
In the past week, the limited supply of stainless steel has positively affected prices. Meanwhile, the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in northern China has exerted a negative impact on transportation and pushed up local stainless steel prices. At the same time, the shortage of ferronickel supply has bolstered prices of the raw material, which will provide support for stainless steel prices. It is expected that stainless steel prices in the Chinese domestic market will increase further in the coming week.
Stainless steel futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at RMB 14,300/mt ($2,204/mt) on Tuesday, January 19, increasing by RMB 395/mt ($8.5/mt) or 2.84 percent compared to RMB 13,905/mt on January 12.
$1 = RMB 6.4883