China's stainless steel market strengthened over the past week amid higher nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange, though a pick-up in trading activity eased selling pressure among steelmakers.
The
three-month nickel contract on the London Metal Exchange ended Wednesday's trading session at $13,895-13,900 per tonne, up $260-265 per tonne from $13,630-13,640 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 14,300-15,100 yuan ($2,041-2,156) per tonne including value-added tax on Wednesday December 18, up 150-200 yuan per tonne from
a week earlier.
A major stainless steel mill's reduced inventory levels eased the pressure on prices, sources said.
The mill has 170,000-180,000 tonnes of stainless hot-rolled coil in its inventory this week, half of that in late November, an industry analyst in Shanghai said.
Prices for stainless HRC were at 13,200 yuan per...