Research

Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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February 2018 | Stainless Steels


No guarantee of price revival come March: Asian Highlights


Today it is much more attractive for stainless suppliers in China to export rather than sell domestically, on a per tonne basis.

Price performance mixed around Chinese New Year...
During the past month, the impact of rising raw materials, particularly on exchanges if not so much the physical markets, has had a positive impact on stainless prices, especially on austenitic grades. Indeed cold-rolled (CR) 304 sheet sold on an ex-warehouse Wuxi basis, rose to RMB15,150 per tonne including sales tax on Feb 22nd, which is worth an equivalent of $2,042 per tonne without. Compared to one month ago, that represents an increase of $47 per tonne. In contrast to Wuxi, however, other spot markets in China have fared less well with CR austenitic series normally retreating, albeit from higher levels than in Wuxi, by RMB100 per tonne during the past month or $6.50 excluding tax. Hot rolled (HR) prices have fallen by RMB50 at the same time, slightly reducing the CRC premium.

For ferritic prices, meanwhile, Chinese prices remain...

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