Global nickel prices were initially on a downward trend during the past week, but started to rebound towards the end of the week. On February 21, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $20,400/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 97,308 mt.
Against the background of international economic uncertainty, the stainless steel market in China has indicated some decreases in the past week, while local traders of stainless steel have lacked confidence. Accordingly, the trading volume in China's stainless steel market has remained slack, while price reductions have not sparked any increase in activity on the demand side. Meanwhile, domestic mills have raised their stainless steel quotations slightly, and this has placed pressure on the profit margins of traders.