Market sources state that Turkish mills' local offers for prime quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness for January production have remained stable over the past week in the range of $2,550/mt ex-works. In the given period, Turkish traders' local stainless steel offers in the spot market have also moved sideways at approximately $2,650-2,700/mt ex-warehouse, for advance payment. Slowing stainless steel demand in the local Turkish market has been cited as a contributing factor to the stability of prices, while Turkish traders prefer to conclude deals from European suppliers instead of buying from their domestic market.
On the other hand, according to market sources, offers from Turkey to the export markets for the abovementioned stainless products have remained stable week on week at $2,350-2,400/mt ex-works. With the euro losing strength against the US dollar, ex-Europe stainless steel offers are still considered to be on the low side. Meanwhile, ex-Europe stainless steel offers for second grade products are heard to be at $2,250-2,300/mt ex-works, while the quality of these products is said to be equivalent to the quality of first grade products from the Far East.
Meanwhile, offers for prime quality 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2.0 mm thickness from China and Taiwan to the Turkish market have declined by $140/mt on the lower end over the past week to the range of $2,110-2,300/mt CIF. Market players in Turkey state that it is more advantageous to make stainless steel purchases from Europe instead of from China and Taiwan, due to the long delivery times involved for Chinese and Taiwanese products.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has decreased by $130/mt since January 29, closing the day at $14,835/mt on February 5.