Stainless steel price plummeted in 2015

The past year has been another challenging period for stainless steel producers, distributors and traders in all regions of the world. In the "Stainless Steel Survey," MEPs report that consumption has not been raised to any significant value, while the price of metal has plummeted due to a decrease in raw material prices.

The main factor in reducing the cost of stainless steel production was the fall in the price of nickel. Over the past twelve months, the price of nickel, along with most other traded commodities, has shown a downward curve. The price of the metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has fallen from more than $ 15,500 per tonne a year ago to $ 8,650 per tonne in recent days. This represents a 44 percent reduction. The nickel price has been undermined, in particular, by the unprecedented high level of LME inventory.

The figure rose from 410,000 tonnes in December 2014, peaking at over 470,000 tonnes in June this year. At the same time, earlier in December, the level steadily declined, reaching a minimum of about 393,000 tons. However, in the past few days, the inflow of material has raised the level to a total of over 438,000 tonnes. Costs for other raw materials have also dropped. The price paid for chrome mills in the United States has fallen by about 10 percent in the past twelve months, while the cost of stainless scrap used in the calculations of American manufacturers has fallen by 56 percent.

The conditions for the sale of stainless steel have created a very troublesome business situation for all participants in the supply chain: manufacturers, distributors, shareholders, service centers and traders.

As a result, in December 2015, the surcharge for grade 304 alloy flatware in the US was 46 percent lower than a year earlier. This is facilitated by the transaction value of 304 cold rolled coils, which is 37 percent less than last December. Those numbers for the sale of the same product, in dollar terms, fell 32 percent in China, and nearly 25 percent in the EU, compared with twelve months earlier.