The UK inter-merchant price range for austenitic alloy steel scrap narrowed upward by ?10 per tonne this week with nickel prices remaining strong, sources said on Friday January 12.
Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for inter-merchant 18/8 scrap solids in the UK was ?960-980 ($1,297-1,324) per tonne delivered on Friday, compared with ?950-980 per tonne on January 5."It's not easy to buy because there's strong price competition among scrap traders," one UK-based trader said.Stainless steel mills are trying to widen discounts for the nickel units in scrap relative to the LME nickel price, sources said."Mills are trying to decrease nickel payables, but our margins are already quite tight," the trader said.The London Metal Exchange three-month official nickel bid/offer spread...