This week witnessed some bad news for the global stainless steel market:
1. Japan suffered another earthquake,
2. Auto sales dropped in the US,
3. Unemployment figures reached their highest in the US in over two months,
4. China tightened its monetary policy with another interest rate hike.
The price of nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has decreased by over $1,000/mt. If it stays at around $26,000/mt in the next few days, the price might go up; otherwise, it could very well drop lower.
LME Nickel Stock (mt) vs. Price ($/mt)
Although the prospects for the stainless steel spot market do not look great, the price has followed a neutral trend. Traders have stabilized prices in order to boost buyer confidence. Some traders have stated that costs are too high to allow them to lower their price again. It is expected that stainless steel price will follow the trend of the LME nickel price.
300 series vs. 400 series market price ($/mt)
Chinese stainless steel prices
Specification |
Region |
Producer |
Price (RMB/mt) |
Price ($/mt) |
Change week on week |
304/2B |
Wuxi |
Ningbo baoxing |
25,500 |
3,887 |
-300 |
304/BA |
Wuxi |
Ningbo baoxing |
26,700 |
4,070 |
-300 |
430/No.1 |
Wuxi |
Taigang |
9,800 |
1,494 |
0 |
430/2B |
Wuxi |
Taigang |
11,900 |
1,814 |
0 |