Stainless Steel Prices Steady as Demand for 304 & 316L Picks Up

Stainless Steel Price

• Nickel closed yesterday for the weekend unchanged at $15,860/ton, while Copper closed yesterday down by 0.47% at $8,954/ton.
• INR closed on Friday against USD at 83.99/-.
• 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 material.

Stainless Steel News

• The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) on Thursday (September 5) said the company has supplied stainless steel for the Vande Bharat sleeper coaches, the prototype of which was recently unveiled by Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in Bengaluru. Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless, India's largest stainless steel producer, expects the country's stainless steel industry to grow by 8-9% annually, driven by five key factors.
• In response to growing climate challenges, global steelmakers are setting ambitious carbon reduction targets. Following the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact, where 133 nations committed to carbon neutrality, steel companies in Europe and Asia are leading the charge.
• According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), Turkey imported a total of roughly 11.6 million tons of scrap in the first seven months of 2024, inching up by 0.5% compared to the same period in the previous year.
• The inflation rate in Switzerland fell more sharply than expected in August, to 1.1 per cent. Core inflation, adjusted for food and energy prices, also stood at 1.1 per cent in August.
• The construction industry, which already enjoyed a 2.7% increase in incoming orders in June, could see a further rise in the short to medium term. According to reports from the construction financing market, demand for loans has already increased by 18% compared to the previous year.

Expert Opinion

• Both 304 & 316L are expected to have a medium to good run in the coming 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.