Global nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have moved down by $365/mt over the past week, closing the day at $14,950/mt on October 23 for the settlement.
As an impact of this decline in global nickel prices, Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B
stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness have slid down by $200/mt since last week to $2,700-2,800/mt ex-works, for October output. However, as local buyers are keeping their firm bids at low levels as they seek to conclude new bookings at discounted prices,
stainless steel demand in the Turkish domestic market has remained on the weak side this week.
Meanwhile, despite the decline seen in the nickel prices, traders' local
stainless steel offers in the Turkish market have not indicated any changes over the same period. Accordingly, domestic
stainless steel CRC spot prices are still hovering at $2,900-3,000/mt ex-warehouse.
In addition, Turkish steelmakers'
stainless steel CRC export offers for the European Union can be found in the range of $2,500-2,600/mt ex-works, decreasing by $225/mt as compared to early October.