Major stainless steel mills have agreed to increase the prices of core products in October in response to growth in market demand and the rise in the price of nickel, a source close to the situation told Interfax today.
Major stainless steel mills, including Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co. Ltd. (TISCO), Baosteel, Zhangjiagang POSCO and Gansu Jiuquan Steel, met last week in Chengdu, where they agreed to increase core stainless steel product prices in October, a TISCO official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
According to the official, 304-series cold-rolled and hot-rolled sheet ex-works prices will be raised by RMB 1,500 ($199.73) a tonne in October compared to September prices, while ex-works prices of 430-series cold-rolled and hot-rolled sheet will go up by RMB 300 ($39.95) a tonne.
"Previously, we agreed to raise the price by RMB 1,200 ($159.79) a tonne for ex-works 304-series cold-rolled and hot-rolled sheet. However, as nickel prices have gone up recently, we decided to increase the price by RMB 1,500 ($199.73) a tonne in October," the official said.
The price of nickel has bounced back up recently due to a recovery in stainless steel consumption around the world. The three-month nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) hit $32,400 a tonne on Tuesday night, down 2.11% from previous day but up 29.08% since Aug. 16, when the price declined to $25,100 a tonne, the lowest point of the year.
The nickel spot price in the Shanghai Yangtze River Nonferrous Metals Market, China??s largest nonferrous metals physical trading platform, was between RMB 283,000 ($37,683.09) and RMB 285,000 ($37,949.40) a tonne today.
Specific prices for core products will be announced officially in the next two to three days, the official said.
China??s major stainless steel mills hold a regular monthly meeting to unify stainless steel product prices for the next month, so as to avoid malign competition and to ensure that the domestic market is stable.
In September, the major companies increased the ex-works prices of series 304, 321 and 301 cold-rolled and hot-rolled products (of any thickness) by RMB 800 ($106.52) per tonne, series 430 cold-rolled sheet by RMB 600 ($79.89) per tonne and other series 400 cold-rolled products by RMB 300 ($39.95) per tonne, to better reflect actual domestic market prices.