Market sources state that Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness have remained unchanged over the past week in the range of $2,700-2,800/mt ex-works, for November output. Demand in the Turkish stainless steel market have remained quiet since last week, while traders' local stainless steel offers in the Turkish spot market have not indicated any changes in the same period and are still hovering at $2,900-3,000/mt ex-warehouse. The fluctuations in nickel prices in the past week have contributed to the stable price trend and quiet demand situation in the Turkish stainless steel market. The market, which is waiting for traders to reduce their stocks, is expected to trend sideways until the New Year.
On the other hand, according to market sources stainless cold rolled coil offers from Europe to Turkey for second grade stainless steel are at €1,850-1,900/mt ($2,316-2,375/mt) CIF, for December deliveries.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has fluctuated on a soft trend in the past week, declining by $265/mt since November 6, closed the day at $15,520/mt on November 13.