The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel price reached US$30,000/ton last month and then fell to US$26,520/ton these days. In addition, the molybdenum prices still remained at a high level. Due to the high raw material costs, it was expected that Taiwanese stainless steel mills might increase the prices at the end of February for March.

However, Indonesian Tsingshan dropped its price last week in consideration of weak demand in China. Meanwhile, downstream customers are taking time to observe the raw material prices and don't take risks to purchase at this moment.

According to coil centers, it was expected that the stainless demand will be active in the second quarter. The stock level was not high and buyers preferred to stock materials for better prices. However, the price for 316L products was still good due to material shortage.