Prices for austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe continued to soften this week with market participants adjusting to the new nickel price after heavy losses last week, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Friday September 14.
Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for 18/8 stainless steel solids imported into mainland Europe widened downward by ?,?20 per tonne to ?,?1,050-1,100 ($1,224-1,282) per tonne cif main European ports on Friday, from ?,?1,070-1,100 per tonne one week earlier."We managed to buy a little when the nickel price rose slightly on Thursday, but nothing else. We expect the market to be quiet for a while because not much scrap is available," one trader in mainland Europe said.The London Metal Exchange three-month official nickel bid/offer spread was $12,600/12,605 per tonne on September 14, up from $12,360/12,400 per tonne on September 7.The nickel...