China’s domestic stainless steel prices have shown either stable movement or slight downticks during the past seven days.
In the past week, global nickel prices first increased and then started to move back down, with prices down slightly week on week. On March 30, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $15,905/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 260,568 mt.
In the past week, trading activity for 200 and 300 series stainless steel products has increased, whereas demand and prices for 400 series products weakened. The downtrend in nickel prices which started during the week exerts some pressure on stainless steel prices. As for the week ahead, it is believed that local stainless steel prices may fluctuate on a slightly upward trend, with demand back to normal levels though upstream costs may fluctuate.
|
Spec. - Grade (mm) |
Origin |
Price |
Weekly change |
||
|
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
(RMB/mt) |
($/mt) |
||
|
202/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
13,100 |
1,994 |
0 |
-15 |
|
201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Guangzhou Lianzhong |
8,300 |
1,263 |
0 |
-9 |
|
304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,650 |
2,534 |
-50 |
-26 |
|
304/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
16,850 |
2,564 |
0 |
-19 |
|
430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) |
Taigang |
10,200 |
1,552 |
-200 |
-42 |
|
430/No.1 (3.0 x 1,500 x C) |
Taigang |
9,200 |
1,400 |
-100 |
-26 |
13 percent VAT is included in the above prices.
$1 = RMB 6.571