Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend and Forecast

Stainless Steel Scrap Regional Price Overview

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

Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend for the First Half of 2024

In the first half of 2024, the stainless-steel scrap market experienced significant volatility due to shifting global economic conditions and fluctuating demand. Moderate demand, reduced production, and tight supply kept prices relatively stable, though pressures mounted in Europe as declining steel production and reduced activity in construction and manufacturing limited scrap generation. Elevated freight costs curtailed imports from Asia, further depleting inventories.
 

Stainless Steel Scrap Price Chart

Please Login or Subscribe to Access the Stainless Steel Scrap Price Chart Data
 

Despite these challenges, lower energy costs in Western Europe helped maintain some stability. However, heightened demand for high-grade scrap from flat steel producers drove shifts in pricing dynamics, while Turkey and Egypt grappled with weaker domestic demand due to depreciating currencies and high interest rates. In Asia, economic struggles, particularly in China's real estate sector, further impacted demand for stainless steel, contributing to a broader global slowdown. Industry experts highlighted that the stainless-steel scrap market faced profitability challenges, with high costs and lower returns making investment less favorable during this period.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, Stainless Steel Scrap prices are expected to remain confined in the coming months. Improvement in demand and prices is expected from September onwards because of anticipated ease in economic conditions for the global steel market.
 

Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend for the Second Half of 2023

The EU stainless steel scrap market has faced fierce competition and significant challenges, exacerbated by recent price increases and a shortage of supply during the fourth quarter of 2023 after a series of oscillations in the previous quarters. Domestic stainless steel producers prepared for further price hikes in the adjacent quarters, having previously depressed scrap prices, which collapsed significantly following the onset of the Ukraine war.

The shortage of feedstock supply during H2'23, fueled by Europe's limited scrap imports and extensive exports, has led to a recovery in prices. The existing business practices and policies were criticized by scrap dealers, who faced damaging pressures.

Additionally, Kazakhstan's extended scrap export ban and similar protectionist measures in other countries, such as the UAE, and anticipated actions by the EU further tightened the supply. Indian producers also foresee difficulties due to growing global protectionism. Despite potential surpluses in production, its impact on stainless steel prices remains minimal. The increasing need for stainless steel scrap, particularly in the EU, the US, India, and other Asian countries, combined with scrap protectionism and scarce availability, is expected to intensify market competition and support elevated stainless steel prices.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of Stainless Steel Scrap is estimated to incline in the next quarters as the global industries grapple with the dried inventories and surging demand for the commodity.
 

Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend for First Half of 2023

Asia

In 2023, the prices of stainless-steel scrap faced a difficult first quarter as the demand from the downstream industries was weak while the level of inventories rose consistently. Along with the domestic sector, the overseas sector also showcased feeble movements, and thus, with declined trading activities, the prices of stainless-steel scrap also nosedived.

However, the initial phase of the second quarter was favorable for the stainless-steel scrap market, especially in China, as it was backed by high costs of feedstock materials and high demand from the end-user sector. But this trajectory was short-lived, and with the influx of low-cost raw materials, the price trend of stainless-steel scrap again dipped in the latter half of the second quarter of 2023.

Europe

The price trend of stainless-steel scrap in the European countries was stable in the first quarter as the consistent demand for stainless-steel scrap was not countered by the limited supply. After a long phase of disruption caused by COVID-19, the rates of consumption returned to their normal levels, which further helped the market of stainless-steel scrap to remain afloat.

During the initial phase of the second quarter, the high number of sales from the automotive industries and the rise in prices of feedstock materials boosted the positive movement of stainless-steel scrap prices.

However, in the latter half, the market sentiments were adversely affected by poor economic growth, a rise in inflation, and a steep decline in demand from the downstream industries, causing the price trend of stainless-steel scrap to move southwards.

North America

In North America, the prices of stainless-steel scrap remained positive in the first quarter as the construction industries showcased positive demand, and the high cost of raw materials pushed the trend in the positive zone. Similar to the European markets, the spike in prices in the early months of the second quarter caused by the expansion of the service industry and strong domestic demand was soon countered by rising rates of inflation and the collapse of the US economy.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Stainless-Steel Scrap is expected to decline in the upcoming quarters as the global economic conditions do not seem suitable for the growth of the stainless-steel scrap market.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Stainless Steel Scrap. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.