Last week, the spot prices of stainless steel products in the Chinese market merely increased by about RMB100-RMB200/ton (US$16~US$32/ton), in spite of sharply rising nickel prices.
It's known that the nickel prices surged by around US$1,000/ton in the given period of time.
Analysts indicated that the quiet stainless steel spot market was caused by the following reasons.
Firstly, the nickel enjoyed a pick-up last week because of certain good news about the economy from Europe and the US; however, nickel prices may probably drop again due to high stocks and weak demand.
Meanwhile, Chinese leading mills such as Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group (Tisco) and Baosteel cut the list prices for 304 grade stainless steel products by RMB800~RMB900/ton for December, reflecting that the mills were not optimistic about the market trend.
Currently, the stainless steel inventories are high in the market while the demand remains weak.
Affected by these factors, the Chines stainless steel spot market remains quiet recently.