Latest Stainless Steel News 23/06/2010

Wed 23 Jun 2010

Taiwanese stainless makers cut austenitic prices

Taiwan's two main stainless producers – Yieh United Steel Corp (Yusco) and Tang Eng Iron Works – have cut their domestic austenitic prices for the second half of June by TWD 5,500/tonne ($171/t), while Yusco has further dropped its grade 304 export prices by $150/t. Tang Eng did not change its export prices as it only does so in the beginning of the month.

Despite the recent rebound in nickel prices, demand remains muted and customers remain cautious when it comes to placing orders. It's still too early to say if nickel prices are going to become stable from now on, though we do hope that prices can at least stabilise at $20,000/t . Three-month nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange had dipped to around $18,000/t last week before rebounding to $19,650/t on 22 June.

Both companies are cutting production in June. Tang Eng is expected to produce at around 60% of its 28,000-30,000 tonnes/month capacity this month, while Yusco is expected to produce around 76,000 t in June, down from 85,000 t in May.

European stainless surcharges drop in July

Nickel's lower price range in recent weeks, at times falling below $18,000 (€14,635)/tonne (cash) on the LME, has resulted in a decline in July alloy surcharges on European flat rolled austenitic stainless for the first time this year. The month-on-month fall is around 10%.

Molybdenum prices have also weakened in past weeks, compounding the decline in surcharges for certain austenitic grades, and some grades of ferro-chrome have slipped marginally during the four-week alloy price monitoring period used by most mills to calculate surcharges. Ferrous scrap prices have also declined.

However, the weakening of the euro against the dollar means that downward commodity price movements are less pronounced, or in some cases non-existent, for European buyers, market sources explain.

The traditional and less time-sensitive surcharge calculating period retained by Spain's Acerinox means that its surcharge values for July continue to move upwards, increasing by 6-7% against June for austenitics and by almost 15% on ferritics.

Asia mills cut stainless steel output to stablize price

Affected by slow demand for stainless steel, Posco has decided to cut its production for July and August roughly by 10%. For Taiwanese stainless steel mills, Yusco is going to reduce in line with Posco by around 15~20% if orders are deficient.

Mills believe that stainless steel market in the second half of 2010 is still controlled by nickel price. Emerging markets such as China and India will be the key point to decide the demand for nickel and nickel products.

Back to news