Mixed Trends in Stainless Steel Market; Nickel Dips, Copper Rises

Key Takeaways

• Mixed Price Movements: Nickel is slightly down at $16,095/mt & copper is up at $9,697/mt. Meanwhile, the stainless steel industry shows mixed demand-supply in domestic market.
• Lower Demand: Declining demand for the 300 series due to fund shortages, while the 200 series maintains steady demand, especially in No.4 PVC finishes.
• Industry News: Taiwan’s Yieh Hsing increases stainless steel prices. Japan’s Nippon Steel may impose trade measures on imports.

Stainless Steel Prices

• Nickel opened today down by 0.16% at $16,095/mt, while Copper opened today up by 1.32% at $9,697/mt.
• INR opened today against USD at 84.09/-.
• Current retail price for 304 CR wider 2B is now running approximately at Rs.198-201/kg basic price range, ex-Delhi, while for narrow, it is approximately Rs.3-5/kg cheaper, plus GST.
• SS 316L imported material is now being retailed in the price range of Rs.320-324/kg for HR wider. Indian material is expensive by Rs.5-10/kg. For CR wider, the rates are Rs.10/kg higher than HR. SS 201 imported CR 2B (extra low thicknesses like 0.26mm) is being retailed at Rs 143-148/kg, ex-Delhi, plus GST.
• Domestic 201 (cheapest grade) is now being retailed in the price range of Rs 140-143/- base price (plus thickness difference extra), plus GST.

Stainless Steel Demand and Supply

• Demand has gone down at present for the 300 series, due to lack of funds, in the market.
• Even for ferritic grades, demand is not that great.
• The 200 series demand is still there, due to a lack of imported material.
• No.4 PVC material demand is on the rise, both in 200 and 300 series, due to a lack of production of this finish from the domestic suppliers and scarce availability of stock.

Stainless Steel News

• Taiwan’s Yieh Hsing announced a price hike for November, with carbon wire rods up NT$1,000 per mt and stainless steel up NT$3,000 per mt due to increased raw material and electricity costs.
• Acerinox, a stainless steel manufacturer based in Spain, reported that the company’s production grew by 12% in Q3, with cold-rolled steel up 7% and long steel up 26%, but its EBITDA dropped by 9% due to tough market conditions.
• Nippon Steel (Japan) is considering trade measures against Chinese and Korean stainless steel imports.

Stainless Steel Opinion

• The SS 300 series is expected to have a dull run in the present and upcoming week, because of payment shortage and upcoming festive holidays.
• The SS 400 series performance is also expected to be dull, except 410S grade, where there will be considerable demand in thinner gauges.
• The SS 200 series is expected to be performing satisfactorily in special finishes like N4P (Matte PVC) & N8P (Mirror PVC) owing to the lack of imported products in the market.