Stainless Steel Market Trends: Nickel and Copper Prices Down

Stainless Steel Price

• Nickel opened today down by 0.03% at $15,915/ton, while Copper opened today down by 0.38% at $9,273/ton.
• INR opened today against USD at 83.89/-.
• 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.317-321/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 is slightly better in 304 & 316L (CR & HR), in generic sizes, as compared to previous 2 months.
• Not much demand is there in ferritic grades, except some railway fabrication usage in 409M/X2CrNi12/IRSM 44-97 grades.
• Good demand is being observed in No.4/Matte PVCfinish in 201 grades, due to short supply from domestic players, and non-renewal of BIS for imported material.
• Decent demand is also being observed in 304 narrow sizes, for applications like pipes and tubes or rerolling usages, due to short supply in imported aterial.

Stainless Steel News

• Due to Russia’s plans to impose restrictions on exports of nickel, uranium, and titanium in an attempt to retaliate against Western sanctions imposed over the Ukrainian war, coupled with the expected US Fed’s interest rates cuts, basic metal prices generally rose accordingly, including LME nickel.
• Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. (STSS) successfully applied for a patent for the preparation method of radial forging-used stainless steel ingots and the technique for forged stainless steel profiles, under CN118635455A.
• Brazil's mining company Vale, the world's second-largest iron ore producer, expected to produce between 323 and 330 million tons of iron ore in 2024, up from the previous forecast of between 310 and 320 million tons.
• According to statistics, in August of this year, Russia exported US$51.1 million worth of goods to Brazil, of which US$48.2 million belonged to iron and steel, 1.5 times more than the same month of the previous year.
• Germany-based Cronimet Holding GmbH, a stainless steel scrap and ferroalloys company acquired a 100% stake in MetallPlast Recykling of the Czech Republic to strengthen its business presence in Central Europe.
• According to India’s Ministry of Steel, the government is working on a green steel policy framework. The Ministry of Steel has released a new report on Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan.
• Due to the weak demand, European steel mills have finally planned to adjust production, but the specific extent of production cuts is still unclear. Downstream customers said it is a wise decision for steel mills to reduce production, otherwise, the price can't be stabilized.
• According to statistics from the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), the copper production of Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), the state-owned copper mining company in Chile, totaled 111,400 tons in July, falling by 10.7% compared to the same month a year ago.
• Base metal prices in Asia were mostly positive today, Friday. Prices on the SHFE for copper (+0.7%), aluminum (+0.8%), nickel (+0.4%), lead (+0.4%) and tin (+1.1%) rose slightly. Among the base metals, zinc made the biggest gains with an increase of more than 2.7%. One of the reasons for this is the expectation that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the near future.
• Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta plans to increase nickel and nickel sulphate production and tap rising demand for EV battery materials in countries in northeast Asia, the company said on Thursday.

Expert Opinion

• Both 304 & 316L are expected to have a medium to good run in this week, owing to the slight raw material price increase.
• The 400 series is continuing with its dull run, due to the lack of demand in ferritic grades.
• The 200 series is still performing strongly, in special finishes like N4P (Matte PVC) & N8P (Mirror PVC) owing to the lack of imported products in the market.