China’s domestic stainless steel market has mostly moved on a stable trend in the past week, though with some upticks in prices also seen.
Global nickel prices have followed a fluctuating trend in the past week and are now slightly higher compared to one week earlier. On September 8, the three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $10,000/mt, while LME nickel inventory on the same date totaled 451,356 mt.
The Chinese domestic stainless market has been mainly stable in the past week, though some product prices have risen slightly on the back of the minor increase in nickel prices. Overall trading activity is still at low levels. Traders are hoping to see improved demand in September, which is traditionally the peak season for business. At the same time, traders are still focused mainly on sales and are not trying to build up their stocks for now. As for the coming week, it is believed that the domestic stainless steel market may continue to see minor fluctuations, while prices may trend up slightly if trading activity improves.
| Specification (mm) | Region | Steel plant/origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) |
| 202/No.1 (3.0 x 120 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 9,800 | 1,536 | 0 |
| 201/No.1 (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Foshan | Guangzhou Lianzhong | 6,450 | 1,011 | 0 |
| 304/2B (1.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 12,400 | 1,944 | 0 |
| 304/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 12,100 | 1,897 | 0 |
| 430/2B (3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Taigang | 6,200 | 972 | ↑100 |
| 430/No.1(3.0 x 1,219 x C) | Wuxi | Krupp | 6,500 | 1,019 | ↑500 |
All prices are ex-warehouse and include 17 percent VAT.
$1 = RMB 6.38