According to market sources, demand for stainless steel in the local Turkish market has been slack over the past week, while Turkish traders' stock levels have been on the high side. Turkish producers' offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness in the local market are in the range of $3,000-3,050/mt ex-works, for October shipments. Market sources state that prices for the same quality products in the spot market have decreased by $50/mt on the upper end since last month to $2,900-3,050/mt ex-warehouse. Stainless steel prices in the local Turkish market are expected to trend sideways in the coming days.
On the other hand, offers for prime quality ready stock 304/2B stainless steel CRC of 2.0 mm thickness from Far Eastern suppliers to Turkish buyers are in the range of $2,700-2,750/mt CIF.
Meanwhile, the cash and settlement nickel price at the London Metal Exchange (LME), which was at $18,460/mt on September 11, has continued its downtrend, closing at $17,920/mt on September 18.