Import prices for stainless steel in East Asia rose over the past week with Chinese suppliers maintaining their high offers amid costlier nickel, although there was no considerable uptick in demand.
Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless 2mm trimmed cold-rolled coil was $2,100-2,230 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the week ended Wednesday April 11, up $20-100 per tonne from a week earlier.Metal Bulletin's assessment of prices for benchmark 304 stainless trimmed hot-rolled sheet was $2,040-2,160 per tonne cif East Asian ports for the same period, widening upward by $20 per tonne week on week.Prices had been softening in previous weeks due to subdued regional demand and sellers trying to destock.But over the past week, orders were heard placed for Chinese stainless untrimmed CRC at $2,050-2,200 per tonne cif, which is equivalent to about $2,080-2,230 per tonne cif for the trimmed product that Metal Bulletin assesses. Bookings priced at the low end of that range involved cargoes from smaller, private mills that are typically significantly cheaper than the rest of the market. Those prices were thus excluded...