While some Type 300 stainless steel scrap prices in the United States rose slightly week on week due to an uptick in London Metal Exchange nickel prices and the continued shortage of material in the supply chain, sources were cautious about referring to the increase as a recovery while the Covid-19 pandemic continues.
"Supply is still the fundamental factor supporting stainless prices. Scrap flow has slowed tremendously the past three weeks, and processors are trying their best to secure tonnage to meet whatever projected mill demand will exist," one major dealer said.While consumer demand is off slightly, the bigger problem in the stainless scrap market is the loss of materials from the peddler trade and a continued decrease in industrial scrap."Inbound flows are down about 50% across retail-industrial-dealer wholesale," one processor said.Fastmarkets assessed the 316 solids, clips, broker buying price,...