Outokumpu, Aperam and Acciai Speciali Terni, leading stainless steel producers in Europe, have all decreased their alloy surcharges for April. The cash seller and settlement nickel price at London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $13,045/mt on March 30, indicating a total decrease of $840/mt compared to March 2. Meanwhile, market players are wondering when nickel prices will recover after generally fluctuating on a downward trend throughout most of March. The general outlook for stainless steel prices among market players is for downward movement in April due to lack of expected recovery in cash nickel prices.
The above producers' alloy surcharges for April 2015 are as follows:
Producer/ Grade | Outokumpu (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) | Aperam (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) | Acciai Speciali Terni (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) |
430 | 466 | +8 | 447 | +6 | 473 | +9 |
304 | 1,320 | -4 | 1,277 | -6 | 1,320 | -2 |
316 | 1,897 | -26 | 1,835 | -9 | 1,903 | -17 |