The car industry’s increasing demand for ferritic grades of stainless steel has resulted in a marked rise in the global growth of non-austenitic grades in the usage of stainless steels. The share of nickel-free grades has increased by another one percent to 44% in 2010 and if the increase continues, so will the trend of switching to ferritic grades. Because of investor interest and demand, nickel has been highly volatile for 2010; the nickel price on the London Metal Exchange has swung between USD 18,000/ton and USD 26,000/ton. The number of investments in raw materials means that the substantial volatility of nickel will continue for the remainder of 2010.
