Outokumpu, Aperam and Acciai Speciali Terni, leading stainless steel producers in Europe, have increased their alloy surcharges for March. After fluctuating throughout most of the current month in a narrow range, the cash seller and settlement nickel price at London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $14,310/mt on February 25, indicating a total decrease of $20/mt compared to February 2. Nickel prices are now relatively stable and as a result alloy surcharges have indicated a slight improvement. In this context, stainless steel prices in the global market have moved sideways in February.
The above producers' alloy surcharges for March 2015 are as follows:
Producer/ Grade | Outokumpu (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) | Aperam (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) | Acciai Speciali Terni (€/mt) | Monthly change (€/mt) |
430 | 458 ($522/mt) | +3 ($3.4/mt) | 441 ($503/mt) | +12 ($14/mt) | 464 ($529/mt) | +3 ($3.4/mt) |
304 | 1,324 ($1,509/mt) | +32 ($36/mt) | 1,283 ($1,463/mt) | +45 ($51/mt) | 1,322 ($1,507/mt) | -58 ($66/mt) |
316 | 1,923 ($2,192/mt) | +32 ($36/mt) | 1,844 ($2,102/mt) | +33 ($38/mt) | 1,920 ($2,189/mt) | +31 ($35/mt) |
€1 = $1.14