Market sources state that Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness for January delivery have remained unchanged over the past week at $2,550/mt ex-works. In the given period, Turkish traders' local stainless steel offers in the spot market have also remained stable in the range of $2,650-2,700/mt ex-warehouse. According to Turkish traders, cash and settlement nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) are on the low side, while Turkish buyers expect this weakness to impact on stainless steel prices and so they have postponed their purchases.
On the other hand, according to market sources, offers from Turkey to the export markets for the same stainless products have declined by $50/mt over the past week in the range of $2,450-2,500/mt ex-works. Ex-Turkey stainless steel sales to Europe have nearly come to a halt in the given period due to the euro losing strength against the US dollar, while market sources report that stainless steel sales from Turkey to the US have accelerated. Turkish producers have continued to sell small tonnages to the Middle East since last week, while ex-Turkey stainless steel offers to the region stand at the average price level of $2,400/mt ex-works, $50/mt cheaper compared to offers given to the US.
Meanwhile, offers for prime quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness from China and Taiwan to the Turkish market have declined by $100/mt over the past week to the range of $2,300-2,400/mt CIF, putting additional pressure on the Turkish producers' stainless steel prices.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the LME has increased by $200/mt since January 15, closing the day at $14,770/mt on January 21. Nickel prices were expected to be at approximately $20,000/mt in 2015, but, even with the above increase, prices are below expected levels.
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