KEYWORDS: Wuxi , Jiugang , Baosteel Stainless , Zhangjiagang Pohang

China's spot stainless steel prices in Wuxi fell further this week, with ongoing maintenance at some mills having little positive effect on the market.

Benchmark 304 cold rolled coil was traded at 15,600-15,700 yuan ($2,521-2,537) per tonne on Thursday May 30, down 200 yuan ($32) per tonne from a week ago.

"Jiugang shut down its hot rolled stainless steel production line for maintenance in May, but we didn't see any reduction in its supply to support the market," a Wuxi-based distributor said.

More mills including Baosteel Stainless and Zhangjiagang Pohang have scheduled maintenance in June. Market participants, however, are not expecting much support to come from those since they are small-scale.

Zhangjiagang Pohang will perform maintenance on its smelting system for one week in late June. The move is expected to reduce its 300-series output by 20,000 tonnes.

Baosteel Stainless will put its hot rolled division under maintenance, which will lower production by 10,000 tonnes.

Price will move downwards further as mills' production costs fall, a Wuxi-based analyst said.

Baosteel's high-grade nickel pig iron purchasing prices fell from 980 yuan per nickel unit in May to 905 yuan per nickel unit in June.