Stainless Steel Price Trend and Forecast

Stainless Steel Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Stainless Steel in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Stainless Steel Price Trend for the Q2 of 2024

Asia

Since the early phase of the second quarter, the Chinese stainless-steel market performed exceptionally well as the market was driven by the new sanctions on Russian metals by the US and UK. In China, the domestic stainless-steel production during the initial phase of the quarter was much lower than the expectations as they were altered in order to match the limited supply of raw materials and their exceeding prices.
 

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The feedstock setback of the market came in due to the shortage of nickel ore from Indonesia, the obstruction of ferronickel production, and the widening of the price gap between ferronickel and nickel. Moreover, the overseas players focused on replenishing their inventories, giving the Asian stainless-steel market a boost. Similar to China, South Korea also experienced a robust improvement in its stainless-steel sector as the region accelerated its pace of imports with the support of its logistics sector.

Europe

Many buyers and downstream industries in European countries faced a striking incline in the delivery times of stainless-steel shipments during the second quarter of 2024 from the Asian countries. Another hit for the market came in the form of surging nickel and iron ore prices in the key exporting nations, further raising the quotations of stainless steel in the European countries. However, as the imports from the Asian countries rose, the domestic producers began to express their concerns as it increased the competition in the market. The ongoing geopolitical challenges, such as the loss of shipments due to Houthi attacks and changes in the traditional delivery routes, also significantly altered the trajectory of the European stainless-steel market.

North America

The North American stainless-steel market followed the same trajectory as was observed in the Asian and European countries. The stainless-steel prices in this region also inclined consistently with the help of the expansion of the automotive and construction industries. Additionally, the US Federal Reserve kept its interest rates stable, indicating a slow and gradual recovery of the economic parameters. Further, the growth of the industrial sector in the summer season also supported the rise in procurement of imports from Asian countries.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Stainless Steel is expected to incline further given the global rise in momentum of the construction and automotive industries. The feedstock commodities are also estimated to increase their quotations as the mining outputs are forecasted to decline.
 

Stainless Steel Price Trend for the Q1 of 2024

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Asia

The Asian stainless steel market exuded borderline stability during the said period of the first three months of the year 2024. Building upon the weak economic indicators of the previous year, the stainless steel market remained down during this time. Primarily the downfall in the stainless steel demands from the manufacturing and construction sectors has pushed the price trend down in recent times.

The real estate market in China, once one of the biggest consumers of stainless steel, has been observed to be quiet for a long time now. It has remained weak amidst the post Covid economic recovery of the region. The monthly average prices for stainless steel (304) in the Indian domestic market went from about 2484 USD/MT in January’24 to around 2442 USD/MT in March of 2024. The Indian market was still stable because of high consumption in the public infrastructure development. The depreciation in the international demand pushed down stainless steel prices in the Chinese markets.

Europe

The stainless steel market situation was not much different in the European markets as well. As the purchasing powers took a serious hit because of high inflation in the recent past, the purchasing behavior and purchasing patterns were seriously altered. People started focusing on investments in more experience-centric activities. Construction and manufacturing sectors took a backseat, especially in the developed nations. So, because of these reasons, the stainless steel prices in the European markets observed a tepid trajectory for the entire period of Q1’24.

North America

Mirroring the sluggishness in the global stainless steel industry, the American market also exhibited feeble behavior during the given period. Riddled with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, the American trade dynamics witnessed grave economic uncertainties for the entire period.

The American construction sector was witnessing a stretched downfall in the post-Covid period. The monthly average prices for stainless steel (304) went from about 2106 USD/MT in January’24 to around 2000 USD/MT in March’24. This imparted a 5% depreciation on the American stainless steel price trajectory. Overall, dull market sentiments were witnessed in Q1’24.

Analyst insight

According to Procurement Resource, the current macroeconomic indicators suggest a declining price trajectory for stainless steel in the coming months; Stainless Steel prices are likely to fall further going forward.
 

Stainless Steel Price Trend for the October - December of 2023

Asia

The stainless steel prices in the Asian region mostly fluctuated at the lower end of the curve during the final quarter of the year 2023. In India, the steel prices showed a 1-3 percent fall on a monthly basis till the end of the quarter ending in December.

Building on the depreciation in the steel prices in the previous quarter, the numbers continued to fall on the stainless steel price index in the Indian market. On the other hand, in the Chinese stainless steel market, the price trend started on a lower note in the month of October '23 and traced a wait-and-watch approach till December '23. Overall, low swinging price trend were observed in the Asian region during the last three months of the year 2023.

Europe

In the European stainless steel market, the price trend were observed to be consistently moving downward during the final quarter of the year 2023. Suppliers were worried and relied on mills' activities to determine the prices, as a reduction in production was expected to maintain the market prices. The end user demand was still weak, as it has been throughout the year. Overall, dull market trend were witnessed.

North America

The stainless steel market trend in the USA were observed to be mixed during the given period. The prices started strong as the market experienced supply constraints initially. However, the inventories were observed to be rising later in the quarter, which brought the prices down and resulted in an overall weakened market outlook for stainless steel.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the Stainless Steel price trend are likely to recover in the coming months as the demands and market fundamentals are likely to improve given the current state of the global economy.
 

Stainless Steel Price Trend for the July - September of 2023

Asia

The Asian stainless steel market observed a mixed-price trend during the third quarter of the year 2023. Since the construction sector suffered very severely in the past few years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market demands for stainless steel were at a record low, and as a result, the inventories glutted over this time duration. However, since the markets opened up, the construction sector picked up again, and the stainless steel price trend started fluctuating.

Albeit, the pace of recovery, particularly in the Chinese market has been very slow, and the heavy influx of overflowing supplies didn’t let the stainless steel price graph leap much forward. The situation was a little better in the Indian stainless steel market since the rapid infrastructure development boosted the stainless steel demands. However, the general market outlook was very mixed, with moderate demands, high supplies, and a slow global economy.

Europe

The European stainless steel market also faced downgrading price trend during the said period of Q3’23. This is mainly because, despite the steady reversal of the economic turmoil caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, the major public spending was directed to necessity-centric or experience-based things. The construction sector still struggled for a long time and as a result, the demands have been on the lower side. So, the stainless steel price graph has been wavering downwards throughout the said period.

North America

The North American stainless steel market almost mimicked the European market, as the prices have been on a declining trajectory here as well. The high inflation has kept the construction sector at bay, which has directly translated to the dull market sentiments of the stainless steel industry.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, given the current supply glut, the Stainless Steel prices are likely to remain moderate for some time in the coming months as well.
 

Stainless Steel Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The high level of inventories and slow movement of the downstream industries caused the price trend of stainless steel to fall in the first quarter of 2023. The raw materials in the region also remained scarce, and the consumers also moved with caution, which ultimately led to a fall in industrial demand.

In April, an incline in the cost of nickel metal positively supported the price trend of stainless steel in China market. But soon, the excess supply attributed to the high extraction rates of the nickel and feeble demand from industries in the later months caused the price trend of stainless steel to decline.

Europe

In the first quarter, the prices of stainless steel were stable as the supply of the product was restricted while the demand from downstream industries remained high. In addition to this, the stainless-steel market in the first quarter was also supported by the raw material costs and return of consumption levels to the green zone. This trend continued till the first phase of the second quarter, after which the prices fell dramatically.

The upsurge in prices of nickel raw material negatively impacted the cost of production and, in turn, the price trend of stainless steel. Additionally, the downstream market’s appetite also declined, and the traders had to compete with the cheaper imports from Asian countries and thus were forced to reduce their prices.

North America

The North American region was positively influenced by the rise in demand for stainless steel from the construction industry amid the financial crisis. The rising costs of production due to the economic crises led to the fall in production rates of stainless steel and thus caused the depletion of inventories in the region. Just like the European region, the trend inclined till the first half of the second quarter but then declined as it was negatively impacted by the rising rates of inflation and the steep downfall of the economic conditions of the North American region.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Stainless Steel is estimated to follow a declining trajectory given the fluctuating global economic conditions and the subdued demand from the end-user industries.

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