China's stainless steel prices moved up over the past week on recent gains in the nickel market, but soft demand tempered expectations of any further increases.
The
three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended its official trading session at $12,313 per tonne on May 7, up by $459 per tonne from $11,854 per tonne on May 5, the lowest point so far this month.
The contract has shed some of those gains - it ended Wednesday May 13 at $12,275 per tonne - down by $38 per tonne - but it continued to lend strength to the stainless steel market in China, sources said.
Domestic
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for
stainless steel cold-rolled coil 2mm grade 304 domestic, ex-whs China in Wuxi was 13,500-13,900 yuan ($1,903-1,960) per tonne including value-added tax on Wednesday May 13, up by 600 yuan per tonne from
a week earlier.
"The price surge didn't stimulate any buying interest, which indicates that...