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 May production have increased by $100/mt over the past two weeks to the range of $2,450-2,500/mt ex-works, for May deliveries. In the same period, Turkish traders' local stainless steel offers in the spot market have remained unchanged at approximately $2,450-2,500/mt ex-warehouse. Market sources state that, due to the gradual increases in nickel prices, Turkish buyers have accepted the higher local prices for stainless steel.
The Turkish government has introduced a tariff-free quota for stainless cold rolled sheet imports. Accordingly, by the end of 2015, a maximum total of 60,000 mt of stainless cold rolled sheet can be imported without payment of any import duties. The decision has made Turkish traders happy and may provide them with greater room for importing more products. On the other hand, according to market sources, Turkish producers' offers from Turkey to the export markets for the same stainless products have increased by $100/mt during the past two weeks to the range of $2,300-2,350/mt ex-works. The producers indicated that they revised their prices upwards following the increases in nickel prices and that they are pleased with the demand situation.
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 increased by $125/mt over the past week to $2,200-2,300/mt CIF Izmit. On the other hand, ex-Europe stainless steel offers for the same grade products are at $2,450-2,500/mt CIF.
The cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has trended upwards since April 23, increasing by $1,370/mt and closing the day at $13,915/mt on May 7. Market sources think that this uptrend will be temporary and prices will switch to a downtrend soon.