NSSC raises Ni and Cr stainless prices for March

Thu 15 May 2008

High nickel and chrome prices have led Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless (NSSC) to hike domestic prices of its flat-rolled stainless for ‘miseuri’ or spot sales for March contracts, Japan’s largest stainless steel producer announced on 10 March.

The price rises are reflected through its ‘alloy link’ surcharge component: NSSC kept the base price part of its prices unchanged for both austenitic and ferritic for the second consecutive month.

NSSC is adding ¥10,000/t ($98/t) to austenitic CRC and plate so that austenitic CRC below 2mm becomes ¥490,000/t ($4,772/t), where the alloy charge is ¥180,000/t but the base price remains at ¥310,000/t. The price of 300 series CRC over 2mm becomes ¥500,000/t. NSSC notes that average LME nickel prices in February became $12.68/lb – climbing from $12.56/lb in January – and seems set to reach $14.81/t this month.

Meanwhile, NSSC has decided to add ¥4,000/t to the price of its ferritic CRC, to raise 400 series prices for the second consecutive month, SBB learns. NSSC last month added ¥4,000/t through its alloy surcharge and also added ¥20,000/t to ferritic stainless base prices, as Steel Business Briefing reported.

NSSC’s new price for ferritic CRC below 2mm becomes ¥273,000/t ($2,658/t), with the alloy charge at ¥26,000/t – up from ¥22,000/t in February – and a base price of ¥247,000/t (unchanged from February).

NSSC says austenitic CRC demand is remains low, and more time is needed for coil centres to finish adjusting their stocks. Intent on keeping production “conservative”, NSSC will cut 300s series output by about 10% for first half of March. But it plans to return to normal production soon after to cover lower production in April and May when NSSC plans to undertake annual maintenance.

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