The nickel price soared to the above US$17,000/ton level last Friday (February 23), which stimulated the stainless steel market. Some participants believed that the upstream stainless steel mills would raise their prices for March this week, while some thought that the current demand hasn’t totally recovered and some customers are still digesting their stocks.

According to the market players, the costs of raw materials are rising and the offers from Indonesia Tsingshan are also increasing, which made the price have the potential to rise. However, there are insiders saying that the price will be hiked slightly or be based on a negotiating way for individual customers rather than being actually announced.