Stainless Steel Market Update: Nickel Up 0.06%, Copper Up 0.94%
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Stainless steel prices are fluctuating due to varying demand for different grades. The overall market shows signs of improvement, particularly for 304 and 316L grades, while the 400 series remains stagnant.
Stainless Steel Price
- Nickel opened today up by 0.06% at $17,335/ton, while Copper opened today up by 0.94% at $9,621/ton.
- INR opened today against USD at 84.03/-.
- 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 Trends
- Demand is slightly better in 304 & 316L (CR & HR), in generic sizes, as compared to previous 3 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 material.
Stainless Steel News
- Statistics showed that India’s stainless steel long products imports totalled around 20,100 tons in the first eight months of this year, increasing by 17.7% compared to the same period a year ago. The increase was primarily due to a surge in cheaper sources from China and Taiwan.
- POSCO Future M, a battery materials producer under POSCO, has started the production of nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes at its Pohang plant, three months ahead of schedule, due to customer requests.
- World Stainless Association (Worldstainless) has released a report outlining carbon emissions data tied to the stainless steel industry, including a section that spells out how using recycled metal in higher percentages lowers mill emissions levels.
Expert Opinion on Stainless Steel Market
- 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.
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