Sunday, November 27, 2011

European stainless steel surcharges down for December

Surcharges for 304 grade stainless steel are down 3% and are now in a range of Eur1,333-1,347/mt. Surcharges for CR 316 2-mm coil for December are now averaging Eur2,050/mt down from Eur2,127/mt for November, a reduction of 4%.  Surcharges for 316 grade are now in a range of Eur2,034/mt-2,067/mt. Meanwhile, European surcharges for CR 430 2-mm coil are also lower, down from an average of Eur482/mt for November to an average of Eur459/mt for December.

The surcharge forms a large proportion of the final transaction price for stainless steel. It has come under pressure recently as nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange have continued to fall as the market comes to terms with a weaker global economic outlook.

Nickel was trading at fresh lows at $17,250/mt on Wednesday at 1117 GMT, $11,901 lower than the 2011 high of $29,151/mt in February, when some market participants speculated that nickel could move above $30,000/mt. The Platts weekly dealer molybdenum oxide assessment currently stands at $13.70-14.00/lb. Platts assessed high carbon 52% ferrochrome is at $0.95-$0.99/lb as of Thursday.

Source: PLATTS

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