Stainless steel prices are expected to see increases on higher demand, lower supply and higher raw material costs, industry sources told S&P Global Commodity Insights in the week to March 4. Stainless steel and other steel products have continued their upswing as the global markets recover from the pandemic, with producers having posted their best earnings in recent history last year.
Stainless steel products are mainly produced with 80%-90% scrap and approximately 10% Class 1 nickel, with both products expected to increase together with higher energy costs. “With no nickel imports from Russia, we think that nickel stocks in the EU can go very quickly under 40,000/mt. In 2006 when the price of nickel exploded to $55,000/mt, the stocks at LME were precisely at this level of 40,000 mt,” a spokesperson for EURANIMI, the European association of independent stainless steel and aluminum importers, told S&P Global.
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