China's domestic stainless steel prices and export prices for stainless steel cold-rolled coil fell over the past week due to weakened demand, while a decline in the cost of nickel also put prices under pressure.
The
London Metal Exchange three-month daily official nickel price was $11,505-11,510 per tonne on Wednesday March 18, down by $975 per tonne or 7.8% from $12,480-12,485 per tonne a week earlier.
Domestic
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for
stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in the country's major market of Wuxi was 12,300-13,300 yuan ($1,749-1,892) per tonne including value-added tax on Wednesday, down by 300 yuan per tonne from 12,600-13,600 yuan per tonne
a week earlier.
Downstream sectors in China still have not fully ramped up after operating at reduced rates for the past two months, market sources said.
In the January and February period, China's production of several major downstream stainless products decreased sharply from a year earlier.
For instance,...