China’s domestic stainless steel prices have mostly softened during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have moved down strongly during the past week. On March 9, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $16,170/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 260,352 mt.
Domestic stainless steel prices in China have mostly declined during the past week, influenced by the decreases in nickel prices. However, prices of certain stainless products have risen slightly due to low market inventory. Trading activity has improved a little but is still at low levels, contributing to the relatively large decreases seen in prices of the main stainless steel products. As for the week ahead, it is believed that stainless steel prices may fluctuate on a soft trend against the backdrop of the weakness on the cost side and the high-priced inventories which traders hold.
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
12,900 |
1,981 |
200 |
14 |
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,500 |
1,305 |
-200 |
-42 |
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,800 |
2,580 |
-300 |
-68 |
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
17,350 |
2,665 |
-600 |
-115 |
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
10,600 |
1,628 |
0 |
-14 |
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
9,300 |
1,428 |
100 |
3 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.511
