China’s domestic stainless steel prices have moved down slightly during the past week.
Global nickel prices have risen by a small margin during the past week. On May 23, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $21,000/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 38,172 mt.
Overall trading activity in the local stainless steel market has been sluggish due to the off-season and the summer weather, while most traders have been willing to offer certain discounts in order to close more deals. At the same time, the increases lately seen in nickel prices provide some support for stainless steel prices. As for the week ahead, considering the weakness of the demand side, it is believed that stainless steel prices may indicate a further slight softening.
|
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
|
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
|
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
13,050 |
1,843 |
0 |
-7 |
|
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,800 |
1,243 |
0 |
-5 |
|
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
15,650 |
2,210 |
-100 |
-22 |
|
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
15,350 |
2,167 |
-100 |
-22 |
|
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
7,700 |
1,087 |
0 |
-4 |
|
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
7,500 |
1,059 |
0 |
-4 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 7.082