Prices for austenitic alloy steel scrap in the UK and Europe fell sharply this week on heavy losses in the nickel market, market participants told Metal Bulletin on Friday September 7.
Metal Bulletin's weekly price assessment for 18/8 stainless steel solids imported into mainland Europe was ?,?1,070-1,100 ($1,244-1,279) per tonne cif main European ports on Friday September 7, down by ?,?50 per tonne from ?,?1,120-1,150 per tonne one week earlier."We have a historically wide nickel discount [for nickel units in the scrap relative to the LME price] with the mills and people disappointed with the big drop in the price so there hasn't been much activity," one trader in mainland Europe said.The LME three-month official nickel bid/offer spread was $12,360/12,400 per tonne on September 7, down sharply from $13,080/13,100 per tonne on August 31.Buyers remain cautious amid the...