China’s domestic stainless steel prices have fluctuated during the past week, first declining and then rebounding.
Global nickel prices have increased during the past week. On April 27, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $16,970/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 263,208 mt.
Overall trading activity in the stainless steel market has been sluggish in the past seven days. Producers mostly reduced their quoted prices or kept them stable during the beginning of the past week, causing most traders to do the same. But with upstream nickel prices rebounding, prices of most stainless steel grades have also rebounding. The increase margin is relatively small compared to that seen for nickel prices since most traders have been willing to offer discounts in order to close more deals at the end of the month. As for the week ahead, considering that support from the upstream side is strong, it is believed that stainless steel prices may fluctuate on a slightly upward trend.
|
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
|
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
|
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
13,100 |
2,020 |
0 |
6 |
|
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
7,900 |
1,218 |
0 |
4 |
|
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,700 |
2,575 |
350 |
62 |
|
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,450 |
2,537 |
-100 |
-8 |
|
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
9,550 |
1,473 |
-250 |
-34 |
|
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
9,100 |
1,403 |
0 |
4 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.485