Outokumpu, Aperam and Acerinox, leading stainless steel producers in Europe, have announced their alloy surcharges for October. The cash seller and settlement nickel price mostly trended upwards during the first three weeks of September, but switched to a downward trend in the last week of the month. Meanwhile, the anticipated recovery in trading activity in the European stainless steel markets after the summer holiday has not materialized. For these reasons, the alloy surcharge prices of the three major stainless steel producers have moved down, effective from October 1.
The cash nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) are standing at $10,460/mt as of the end of business on October 2.
The alloy surcharge prices for October 2016 of the producers in question are as follows:
| Producer/Grade | Outokumpu (€/mt) | Change month on month (€/m) | Aperam (€/mt) | Change month on month (€/m) | Acerinox (€/mt) | Change month on month (€/m) |
| 430 | 472 ($529/mt) | -8 | 442 ($495/mt) | -2 | 401 ($449/mt) | -5 |
| 304 | 1,027 ($1,050/mt) | -62 | 1,018 ($1,140/mt) | -42 | 943 ($1,056/mt) | -57 |
| 316 | 1,473 ($1,650/mt) | -75 | 1,479 ($1,656/mt) | -64 | 1,378 ($597mt) | -71 |
€1 = $1.12