WEEKLY: China bellwether stainless grade leads decline

Prices of the benchmark 300-series stainless steel fell across China's major trading hubs last week. On January 30, Mysteel assessed the spot price of 304/2B Hongwang 2*1240mm stainless cold-rolled coil (CRC) in Wuxi at Yuan 14,400/t ($2,071/t) in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT, down Yuan 200/t from a week earlier.

The decline tracked a plunge in stainless futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where the most-traded stainless steel contract for March delivery closed the daytime session on January 30 at Yuan 14,140/t, lower by as much as Yuan 585/t on week. The stainless futures slump was triggered by weaker precious metals