China’s domestic stainless steel prices have mostly followed a stable trend during the past seven days, though some traders have raised their offer prices slightly after the Chinese New Year holiday.
Global nickel prices have moved up during the past week. On February 24, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $17,915/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 287,328 mt.
Overall trading activity in the domestic stainless steel market has improved slightly in the past week, but it remains on the sluggish side since downstream users are only still returning from the holiday. As for the week ahead, it is believed that stainless steel prices may increase by small margins with the recovery of demand and support from the nickel market.
| Spec. - Grade (mm) | Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong |
12,350 |
1,782 |
0 |
3 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong |
7,950 |
1,147 |
0 |
2 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
15,100 |
2,178 |
0 |
4 |
| 304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
14,450 |
2,085 |
50 |
11 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang |
7,650 |
1,104 |
0 |
2 |
| 430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Taigang |
6,900 |
995 |
0 |
2 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.932