China’s domestic stainless steel prices have followed a mostly stable trend during the past seven days.
Global nickel prices have moved up slightly during the past week. On May 6, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $15,692/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 200,082 mt.
Overall trading activity in the Chinese domestic stainless steel market was at a very low level during the Labor Day holiday, while it improved a little after the holiday, with prices receiving some support from the slight increases seen in prices of nickel and stainless steel futures. As for the week ahead, considering that demand may recover and that support from the cost side is still strong, it is believed that stainless steel prices could edge up by small margins.
| Spec. - Grade (mm) | Origin | Price | Weekly change | ||
| (RMB/mt) | ($/mt) | (RMB/mt) | ($/mt) | ||
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 12,500 | 1,736 | 0 | 0 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 7,350 | 1,021 | 0 | 0 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang | 13,750 | 1,909 | 50 | 7 |
| 304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang | 13,200 | 1,833 | 0 | 0 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Taigang | 7,400 | 1,028 | -50 | -7 |
| 430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) | Taigang | 6,750 | 937 | 0 | 0 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 7.201
