Stainless steel price in Taiwan continued the upward trend in April, marking the fifth consecutive month of increases. Market participants indicated that although demand was weak and the cumulative price increase was substantial, factors such as the Middle East conflict led upstream steel mills to announce price hikes. 

In addition, fluctuations in Indonesia's nickel ore export policy, persistently high material costs, and PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel’s decision to raise export offers, coupled with the New Taiwan Dollar's depreciation, all supported the mills' current pricing. 

As for the Chinese market, futures prices have surged over three months around CNY 1,825/ton, an increase of approximately CNY 50-100/ton compared to the end of February. 

However, with the upcoming holiday, local distributors have generally slowed down their pricing, primarily to observe the Middle East conflict and changes in the global market. The future trend is expected to become clearer after the holidays.