India: Stainless steel market stable w-o-w

Stainless steel prices in the India's domestic market remained stable this week. 304 grade stainless steel hot-rolled coils (HRCs) prices ex-Mumbai stood at INR 230,000/t ($2,783/t), while domestic 304 grade stainless steel scrap prices ex-Delhi were assessed at INR 130,000/t ($1,573/t).

Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell by 2.35% from the previous week. LME three-month nickel prices are currently hovering around $26,500/t.

Market highlights

At the start of the week, European scrap prices fell by $50 as compared to last weeks' levels. It has influenced imported scrap offers into India. "Scrap offers were heard at the $1,600-$1,620/t level, although no major deals are happening in the market," an importer told SteelMint.

"Major companies are not buying 304 scrap which is pulling back its prices. It is heard that current offers are around INR 130,000/t to 132,000/t in domestic market while 316 scraps are not readily available leading to strong prices of INR 242,000/t to 245,000/t," a scrap buyer informed.

The finished stainless steel segment remained mostly stable w-o-w. For quite some time, the market has been declining. The major flat stainless steel producer is expecting its exports to be five-year high in next fiscal.

"JSL expects its exports to jump to 25%-30% of overall sales in the fiscal year beginning April, from an estimated 12% in the ongoing fiscal year, Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless," told Reuters in an interview.

Ferro chrome prices continue to rise

Indian ferro chrome prices increased by INR 5,000/t w-o-w. Because domestic offers were much lower than export sales to China, Indian producers began offering high prices to match export offers, which found acceptance in the domestic market. According to SteelMint's assessment on 9 February, ferro chrome prices were hovering around INR 121,500/t exw Jajpur.

Molybdenum's upword trend continues

Domestic and global ferro molybdenum prices continued to rise for another week. It increased by up to 8% w-o-w. SteelMint reports that the FeMo 60% prices increased to INR 4,793,000/t ($57,995/t).

Outlook

Domestic stainless steel demand remained flat. Furthermore, raw material costs are rising as ferro chrome and molybdenum prices rise. Exports are expected to improve in the coming fiscal year, according to producers.