Stainless steel market on the rise in early 2012 ?

According to MEPS, all the leading stainless steel producers in the United States have announced increases to basis values - or reduced discounts - for flat products, effective for January deliveries. MEPS latest report also states that European mills are putting through price hikes in the New Year.

 

Interestingly, with demand volumes very poor and raw material costs falling, customers are expecting lower transaction values. Producers are, in many cases, still meeting these expectations. Note that the cost of nickel, most significantly, has fallen quite significantly in recent weeks.

 

So – a more profitable 2012 for the stainless steel sector?

 

For original MEPS report, see http://www.meps.co.uk/editorial1111.htm.

 

blogger@steelonthenet.com  

 

Nickel prices

For anybody interested in stainless steel pricing, you may wish to note that nickel prices have been tumbling in recent months.

Current nickel prices are comparable to prices about 12 months ago, and the LME price has fallen over $20,000/tonne from its peak in May 2007. You will find daily nickel prices for the last 12 months at http://www.steelonthenet.com/charts.html

Cash is king again, I guess.

blogger@steelonthenet.com