Chinese domestic stainless steel prices are at the same levels as one week ago, having indicated a small upward movement at the start of the past week and subsequently declining again.
Global nickel prices moved on an upward trend in the early part of the past week, before indicating a slight decrease and then following a fluctuating trend during the remainder of the week. On October 29, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $14,605/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 234,228 mt.
In the past week, domestic stainless steel prices in China first moved up by an average of RMB 100/mt, but then trended back down to the previous levels under the influence of the nickel price trend and given the lack of support from trading activity, which remained slack. Meanwhile, supply volumes in the domestic stainless steel market have increased. For the coming week, China's domestic stainless steel prices are expected to move mostly on a stable trend, but prices of some stainless steel grades may soften in line with predicted decreases in nickel prices.