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 April production have remained stable over the past week at $2,450/mt ex-works, for April deliveries. In the same period, Turkish traders' local stainless steel offers in the spot market have been unchanged at approximately $2,500-2,800/mt ex-warehouse.
On the other hand, according to market sources, offers from Turkey to the export markets for the same stainless products have remained unchanged week on week in the range of $2,250-2,300/mt ex-works. Market sources anticipate a decline in Turkish stainless steel prices in a week following the declines seen in nickel prices.
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 on the upper end over the past week to $2,050-2,200/mt CIF Izmit. Chinese and Taiwanese producers are expected to reduce their prices further in the short term following the provisional antidumping duties imposed by the European Commission on stainless cold rolled steel imports from China and Taiwan.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has trended downwards since March 29 decreasing by $685/mt and closing the day at $12,930/mt on April 2. On March 31 the cash and settlement nickel price declined to $12,340/mt, the lowest level recorded in the last six years but has improved again in the following days.