Asia stainless steel flats market
Jaway steel corporation China’s larger stainless steel producer announced to hike stainless steel 304 coil quotations to 20,500 per tonne with delivery at the end of January. If it works, stainless steel prices in the trading market may be pushed up to 18,800 to 19,900 per tonne. In the ten days before Chinese Spring Festival, nickel prices edged up unexpectedly, which stirred up China’s sluggish of stainless steel prices for continuous weeks. However, this price hike in nickel market was mainly for the sake of speculation.
1 Asia
Chinese Stainless Steel Mills Raise Prices to Answer Pickup in Nickel Prices
In the first week of February 2013, prices for 304/2B CR stainless steel increased to 18,400 yuan per tonne (US$2,922 per tonne, including VAT), up 400 per tonne averagely over the prices in the trading market in January.
2 Western Europe
Steel Mills Place Price Hike on Seasonal Stockpiling
In January, stainless steel flats demands from downstream users and traders are very limited and the prices for CR sheet averaged at 1095 Euro per tonne (US$1479 per tonne), flat from last December, while in the same period last year, stainless steel basic prices increased by 35 Euro per tonne due to the booming of stockpile.
3 America
Increasing Stainless Steel Supply to Hold-up Price Rebounce
In January, traders’ stainless steel inventory recorded new high for the past 12 months and the basic prices for 304 CR sheet (2mm/2B) increased only 60 cents per pound because of the oversupply.
The high inventory accumulated in last December made traders less interested in stockpiling in February and March 2013, and the oversupply will continuously impose restrictions on the basic prices.
In January, stainless steel mills in America up regulated the basic prices successfully, while the increasing supplies and the depressed demands detered the large increments in prices.
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