Market sources state that Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B
stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness have remained unchanged over the past week in the range of $2,700-2,800/mt ex-works, for October output. Demand in the Turkish
stainless steel market remained quiet since last week, while traders' local
stainless steel offers in the Turkish spot market have not indicated any changes in the same period and are still hovering at $2,900-3,000/mt ex-warehouse.
Since the beginning of the current month, US buyers have started to prefer locally produced
stainless steel against the backdrop of the improving US economy, while market sources state that Turkish buyers want to avoid building up debts ahead of the New Year. Therefore, local and export demand for Turkish
stainless steel has contracted over the past week, while it is believed that
stainless steel prices are likely to trend sideways until the New Year.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was at $15,815/mt at the end of October, has decreased by $560/mt since then, closing the day at $15,255/mt on November 6.