Stainless steel scrap prices in the United States were unchanged this week, but sources indicated that the market outlook could change dramatically if nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange breach the $6-per-lb threshold.
"LME keeps moving up," one dealer said. "Sooner or later, [price or demand] has to break, and either the market gets slaughtered or demand and prices start to perk up."While the nickel cash price on the LME started the year at $10,440 per tonne ($4.74 per lb), the price has averaged $12,318.52 per tonne ($5.59 per lb) in the year to date, down only modestly from 2018's average at $13,122.27 per tonne ($5.95 per lb).Prices for chrome and iron ore have logged steeper declines over the past year, however, and stainless steel scrap prices have fallen by roughly 15 cents per lb compared with 12...