Over the past week, demand in the local Turkish stainless steel market has remained strong as buyers have continued to conclude bookings for their stocks. Also, strong demand in the global stainless steel market has been supported by the recent decrease of nickel prices to acceptable levels, with nickel prices mostly following a sideways trend over the past week, having fluctuated sharply in mid-April.
As a result, domestic stainless steel prices in Turkey have remained stable during the past week and prices of 304 grade 2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) are still at $2,700-2,800/mt ex-works, while prices of 430 grade 2B stainless steel CRC are standing at $1,650-1,750/mt ex-works.
On May 3, cash nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed the day at $13,985/mt.