Over the past week, Turkish stainless steel producers have increased their domestic prices by $200/mt for 2-6 mm 304 grade 2B stainless steel cold rolled coil (CRC) to $2,600-2,700/mt ex-works and for 2-6 mm 430 grade 2B stainless steel CRC to $1,600-1,700/mt ex-works. Market sources are wondering how buyers will react to this sharp rise in price levels.
Meanwhile, SteelOrbis has been informed that Turkish traders’ prices have remained stable in the current week for 2-6 mm 304 grade 2B stainless steel CRC at $2,450-2,550/mt ex-warehouse, while their prices for 2-6 mm 430 grade 2B stainless steel CRC are still at $1,600-1,650/mt ex-warehouse.
Having recorded sharp rises at London Metal Exchange (LME) due to supply concerns since mid-June and moved down last week, nickel prices have increased by $175/mt as of today, July 25. As a result, the upward movement of producers’ prices will likely continue as it seems nickel prices will continue to rise in the coming period. Market sources state that Turkish stainless steel traders are determining their prices on a day-by-day basis depending on the trend of nickel prices. Meanwhile, market sources indicate that buyers have increased their price inquiries this week due to the sudden fluctuations in nickel prices, but sales are still weak.