Nickel prices started to soften rapidly on July 10, having moved on an uptrend since last week. The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was at $19,180/mt in the beginning of the week, closed at $18,975/mt on July 10.
Even though hot weather conditions have negatively impacted transaction activities, ex-China stainless steel offers to Turkey have increased by $100/mt due to the influence of the recent increases in nickel prices. Ex-China offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness are now at $2,900-3,000/mt CIF Turkey, while ex-Taiwan offers are at $3,000-3,100/mt CIF Turkey. On the other hand, stainless steel prices in the Turkish domestic market have remained unchanged at $3,100-3,200/mt ex-warehouse over the past week despite demand slowing down due to Ramadan and the hot weather conditions.
Weekly price movements of different steel products in major markets can be viewed comparatively in the SteelOrbis Historical Steel Prices section. Market trends can thus be seen more clearly, while desired charts can be created and used in reports or presentations.