Friday, July 29, 2005
GLOBAL STAINLESS STEEL PRICES SET TO FALL FURTHER
MEPS STEEL NEWS
Summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, high stocks and the weakening of raw material prices are combining to send stainless steel markets into the doldrums. Many producers have announced output cuts in an effort to bring the market back into balance. This has been made necessary by the excessive rate of production since mid 2004.
The resulting over-supply has caused falls in stainless prices. Mills have therefore been trying to steady the market by announcing cutbacks in production. In Europe, ThyssenKrupp Stainless, Ugine & ALZ and Outokumpu have each said they are reducing output – though in the case of the Finnish company it is not clear to what extent cuts at its Swedish works will be offset by the ramp-up of its new melting shop at Tornio in Finland.
But ... the article continues
So far these cuts have not had much effect on prices
That's been our experience to date. The delivery times are very good, they have everything we need, but the price hasn't dropped at all. Surcharges are supposed to drop in North America in August, but I haven't booked any stainless for delivery in August, so I don't know what's going to happen.
Summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, high stocks and the weakening of raw material prices are combining to send stainless steel markets into the doldrums. Many producers have announced output cuts in an effort to bring the market back into balance. This has been made necessary by the excessive rate of production since mid 2004.
The resulting over-supply has caused falls in stainless prices. Mills have therefore been trying to steady the market by announcing cutbacks in production. In Europe, ThyssenKrupp Stainless, Ugine & ALZ and Outokumpu have each said they are reducing output – though in the case of the Finnish company it is not clear to what extent cuts at its Swedish works will be offset by the ramp-up of its new melting shop at Tornio in Finland.
But ... the article continues
So far these cuts have not had much effect on prices
That's been our experience to date. The delivery times are very good, they have everything we need, but the price hasn't dropped at all. Surcharges are supposed to drop in North America in August, but I haven't booked any stainless for delivery in August, so I don't know what's going to happen.
