With the start of June, many Far Eastern stainless steel producers have announced their new domestic and export quotations, with leading stainless steel producers from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan all decreasing their prices.
As SteelOrbis has previously reported, Taiwan's YUSCO and South Korean POSCO are among the producers who pushed down their stainless steel prices for June. However, it is yet to be seen how these price cuts will affect stainless steel prices in the Turkish market. Currently, Far Eastern suppliers' offers to the Turkish market for 304/2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) of 2 mm thickness are still standing at an average price level of $2,700/mt CFR.
On the other hand, weak demand and lower nickel prices are also contributing to price drops in the world stainless steel market. Nickel prices at the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed yesterday, June 7, at $16,450/mt for cash settlements and at $16,600/mt for three-month settlement. Thus, nickel prices indicated an uptick yesterday, having declined to $16,025/mt since the beginning of the current month.