Stainless Steel Prices Surge; Nickel and Copper on the Rise

Stainless Steel Price

• Nickel opened today up by 0.03% at $16,555/ton, while Copper opened today up by 0.45% at $9,591/ton.
• INR opened today against USD at 83.55/-.
• 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

• China's stainless steel exports in August reached approximately 488,000 tons, marking a month-on-month increase of 19% and a year-on-year rise of 33.4%. This growth was primarily driven by a surge in steel coil exports.
• Vietnam's Trade Remedies Authority reported that Thailand's Department of Foreign Trade has received a request for an anti-dumping investigation into cold-rolled stainless steel products from Vietnam, initiated by Posco-Thainox Public Company Limited.
• Outokumpu, a global leader in sustainable stainless steel, published a white paper on the future of steel, stressing the urgent need for transformation as the industry faces increasing geopolitical and environmental pressure. The steel industry currently contributes 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Indian government has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it intends to introduce countermeasures against the EU’s safeguard measures on certain steel products.

Expert Opinion

• Both SS 304 & 316L are expected to have a medium to good run in this week, owing to the slight raw material price increase.
• The SS 400 series is continuing with its dull run, due to the lack of demand in ferritic grades.
• The SS 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.