Supply remained limited in August during the seasonal summer slowdown, with many steel mills undergoing maintenance. Demand was described by stainless steel service centers as inconsistent, with “weak days alternating with lively ones.”
“Final users expect a price drop,” a distributor said, “but the current market conditions do not support this. European producers don’t give in, and buying becomes an endless negotiation.”
Fastmarkets’ monthly assessment of the price for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304, transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, was €2,700-2,800 ($2,993-3,104) per tonne on Friday, widening downward from €2,750-2,800 per tonne one month earlier.
Industry sources were optimistic that demand would pick up in September and that prices would stabilize. According to a second distributor, mills would struggle to maintain the current prices.
“[Stainless steel mills] will fight for [the current prices], arguing that they would rather halt production than go lower,” the second distributor said. “At the same time, they’ll do whatever they can to fill the mills… We’ve heard this countless times before. Demand is king.”
The recent downtrend in finished stainless steel prices was in line with lower alloy surcharge values, which for grade-304 material were primarily based on nickel costs.
Fastmarkets’ monthly assessment of the stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304 alloy surcharge, domestic, Europe, was €1,999-2,051 per tonne on Friday, down from €2,110-2,160 per tonne on August 2.
Acerinox returns to market
Acerinox has resumed operations in Spain at full capacity, Fastmarkets understands, after a months-long strike-induced shutdown [LINK] that was resolved in June. The stainless steel manufacturer was also understood to have fulfilled all back-orders.
“It is not yet possible to see the effect of Acerinox’s return to the market – it is still too early,” the first distributor said. “Any renegotiation of contracts slows down deliveries.”
Published by: Zdravko Cherkezov
