China’s domestic stainless steel prices have mostly moved down slightly in the past seven days, with some prices remaining stable.
Global nickel prices have increased by a small margin during the past week. On May 19, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $12,480/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 233,970 mt.
Domestic stainless prices in China first increased at the start of the past week and then started to move down due to the soft trend of futures prices. Many producers were not willing to reduce their stainless steel quotations due to the support from increases in nickel prices and so large decreases in stainless steel prices in the local spot market in the coming period are unlikely. Demand has become slacker due to hot and rainy weather conditions. Many traders have chosen to slightly reduce their quoted prices in order to close more deals. As for the week ahead, it is believed that local stainless steel prices may follow a mostly stable trend, but with slight downticks also possible amid some increases seen in inventory levels.
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
11,350 |
1,599 |
-50 |
-9 |
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
6,850 |
965 |
-50 |
-8 |
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
14,450 |
2,036 |
-50 |
-9 |
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
14,350 |
2,022 |
0 |
-2 |
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
6,900 |
972 |
0 |
-1 |
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
7,200 |
1,015 |
-100 |
-15 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 7.096