Prices for stainless steel flat products in Europe dropped in November due to a shortage of end-user demand. The domestic trade price for 304 grade, the 2mm grade of stainless steel cold rolled sheet delivered in northern Europe, was reportedly assessed at €2,600-2,650 ($2,822-2,876) per tonne on Friday, down from €2,600-2,680 per tonne on November 3.
"We are currently waiting to see the behavior of producers," sources said, adding that distributors were not interested in buying new material and therefore stock levels were kept low. Steel producers will either reduce production to maintain prices or lower prices to get more orders, but for the moment, there is stagnation," sources said.
In 2023, the market for finished stainless steel products was weak due to weak demand and poor macroeconomic conditions. Low nickel costs were also very effective in this decline.
The surcharge for 304 grade material also decreased on Friday. On a monthly basis, local Europe for grade 304 alloy, the 2mm grade of stainless steel cold rolled sheet, dropped from €2,135-2,152 per tonne a month ago to €2,055-2,069 per tonne on December 1.
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