Outokumpu and Acciai Speciali Terni, leading stainless steel producers in Europe, have increased their alloy surcharges for September as compared to last month, while prices of another leading producer, Aperam, have mostly trended downwards. After fluctuating throughout the current month, on August 28 the cash seller and settlement nickel price at London Metal Exchange (LME) closed at $18,650/mt, indicating an increase of $30/mt compared to July 31.
Nickel prices, which increased at the end of July, have impacted alloy surcharges apart from Aperam's prices which have trended downwards independently.
The mills' alloy surcharges for September 2014 are as follows:
Producer/ Grade | Outokumpu | Monthly change (€/mt) | Aperam | Monthly change (€/mt) | Acciai Speciali Terni | Monthly change (€/mt) |
430 | €458 ($605) | +7 ($9) | €427 ($564) | -61 ($81) | €460 ($607) | +7 ($9) |
304 | €1,397 ($1,844) | +2 ($3) | €1,361 ($1,797) | -272 ($359) | €1,389 ($1,833) | +3 ($4) |
316 | €2,129 ($2,810) | -3 ($7) | €2,075 ($2,739) | -384 ($507) | €2,125 ($2,805) | -1 ($1) |
€1 = $1.32