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 $2,700-2,750/mt ex-works, for January shipments. In the given period, Turkish traders' local stainless steel offers in the spot market have decreased by $55/mt to the range of $2,680-2,760/mt ex-warehouse, due to the fluctuations in nickel prices. According to market sources, Turkish traders may insist on payment within three-to-four months instead of within four-to-five months, in order to limit the impact of price declines in 2015.
On the other hand, according to market sources, offers from Turkey to the export markets for the same stainless product have remained stable over the last week in the range of $2,500-2,550/mt ex-works. Meanwhile, offers for the same product from China and Taiwan to the Turkish market are still currently in the range of $2,400-2,550/mt CIF. Accordingly, the fluctuations in nickel prices have not yet been reflected in Turkey's import stainless steel market.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has decreased by $395/mt since December 24, closing the day at $14,880/mt on January 2. Market players state that they are anxious about the downtrend in nickel prices, while they had been expecting prices to enter the New Year with an upward trend.