Stainless Steel Price Stability Continues as Demand Shifts by Grade

Key Highlights

• Current Prices: 304 CR wider 2B at Rs. 195-198/kg; SS 316L HR imported at Rs. 318-322/kg for wider material; 201 CR imported at Rs. 143-148/kg for thin gauges, with Indian-made materials priced slightly higher across grades.
• Mixed Demand: Demand remains low in the 300 series due to payment delays, with limited movement in the ferritic 400 series. The 200 series maintains steady demand, driven by restricted imported material and scarce No.4 PVC finishes.
• Capacity Expansion in Europe: Marcegaglia Fagersta Stainless plans to double output in Sweden and ArcelorMittal’s will potentially expand capacity in Ukraine, conditional on regional stability.
• Future Outlook: Demand for the 300 series is expected to stay muted in the short term, while interest in thinner gauges of 410S and specific finishes in the 200 series persists.

Stainless Steel Price

• Nickel opened today down by 0.77% at $16,185/mt, while Copper opened today up by 0.37% at $9,479/mt.
• INR opened today against USD at 84.39/-.
• Current retail price for 304 CR wider 2B is now running approximately at Rs.195-198/kg basic price range, ex-Delhi, while for narrow, it is approximately Rs.3-5/kg cheaper, plus GST.
• SS 316L HR imported material is now being retailed in the price range of Rs.318-322/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 in the 300 series, due to lack of funds, in the market.
• Even in ferritic grades, demand is not that great.
• The 200 series demand is still there, due to lack of imported material.
• No.4 PVC material demand is on the rise, both in 200 and 300 series, due to lack production of this finish from the domestic suppliers & scarce availability of stock.

Stainless Steel News

• Marcegaglia Fagersta Stainless plans to invest SEK 1.1 billion in its Swedish factory, doubling stainless steel production.
• ArcelorMittal may double steel production in Ukraine by 3 million tons if stability improves, though the company currently operates at 40% capacity due to the regional conflict.
• European automotive sector could face a loss of 186,000 jobs if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump enforces a 10% tariff on EU imports. The German automotive industry and steel exports would be particularly affected.

Expert Opinion

• SS 300 series is expected to have a dull run in the present and upcoming week, because of payment shortage and upcoming festive holidays.
• 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.