China’s domestic stainless steel prices have fluctuated by small margins during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have softened a little during the past week, though they are still considered to be at high levels. On April 21, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $18,150/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 278,166 mt.
Overall trading activity in the domestic stainless steel market has been at normal levels during the past week, while prices have just indicated minor fluctuations, supported by the ongoing high levels of nickel prices. Meanwhile, since demand remains at normal levels, some traders have chosen to reduce their quoted prices slightly for certain product types. As for the week ahead, as demand may improve ahead of the Labor Day holiday, it is believed that stainless steel prices may edge up a little.
| Spec. - Grade (mm) | Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong |
12,350 |
1,799 |
-100 |
-16 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,150 |
1,187 |
0 |
-1 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
15,600 |
2,273 |
+100 |
+13 |
| 304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
14,850 |
2,163 |
+50 |
+5 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
7,550 |
1,100 |
0 |
-1 |
| 430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Taigang |
6,850 |
998 |
0 |
-1 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.864
