General calm in stainless steel markets at the end of 2006

With the approaching New Year, a general sense of calm has started to govern all markets. Despite this lull in activity, stainless steel prices have not indicated any slackening with cash buyer nickel prices hovering at $34,000/ton levels. Indeed, many producers are planning to hike their raw material extras in January and February. Chinese-origin products constitute the major part of the low trading activities in the Turkish market, which is currently calm. Players in the Turkish stainless steel market are trying to conclude bookings for qualified Chinese-origin stainless steel coils. Although Chinese-origin products still fall behind European-origin materials in terms of quality, these products have started to be accepted in the Turkish market. Chinese origin 304 series 2 mm stainless steel coils have even been sold at $4,700-4,800/ton levels. With regard to European-origin materials, sales are not been concluded below the $5,000/ton level. Although European-origin materials are more qualified than Chinese-origin materials, there is a decline in the sales of European products due to the shortage of materials, high prices at record levels, and the lack of activity due to the approaching New Year. Similarly, Chinese-origin stainless steel seamless pipes are being offered at $4,500-4,700/ton CIF Istanbul, while stainless steel flat bars and equal angles are being offered at $4,400-4,600/ton, with stainless steel bars at $4,200-4,400/ton CIF levels. The reason for the difference between the price ranges is that quality changes significantly depending on the product. A general calm is also observed in the local Chinese market, where 304 B/2B 2 mm stainless steel coils are being sold at $4,250-4,350/ton. These prices may indicate changes up to $50-100 depending on the distance to the interior regions of the country. In China, where exports, especially to Europe, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, are increasing, the quality of stainless steel products improves day by day. In the local Chinese market, 304 series 8-25 mm stainless steel bars can find buyers at $3,900-4,000/ton, while 321 series 8-25 mm stainless steel bars can find buyers at $4,100-4,200/ton. With regard to the 200 series - whose buyers have increased recently due to higher prices for other series - prices are at $2,300-2,400/ton for 210/2B coils. Although the resistance of these materials against corrosion is lower, stainless steel prices hovering at high levels have caused some producers to direct their focus on these products. When we look at Russia and Ukraine, we see that dealers that conclude bookings at lower prices than local production levels are able to conclude profitable sales. In particular, Chinese-origin materials have started to find buyers in these countries. 304 series 2 mm coils are being sold at $5,150-5,250/ton. Although the domestic markets in these countries are strong in general, the lull in activity as a result of the approaching New Year is also seen in these countries. In conclusion, after looking at all these prices, we may predict that the high price levels will continue as long as nickel prices maintain their strength.