According to Meps, stainless steel prices have reached record levels, and look set to advance still further in the next few months. Including raw material surcharges, Meps transaction prices for cold rolled 304 in Europe and North America now exceed USD 4500 per tonne (pt). In Asia, the Meps cold rolled 304 price is rather lower at USD 3706pt, and has some catching up to do. Significantly, some major Asian mills have announced plans to raise prices further during the fourth quarter. Cold rolled 304 prices have virtually doubled since the start of this year, and have more than tripled since they touched their most recent historical low point in the period December 2001 to February 2002. At that time transaction prices were as low as USD 1300pt in North America, USD 1173pt in Asia and USD 1234pt in Europe. The price of nickel in those days was around USD 5000pt – today it is over USD 30,000 pt. Most of the recent advance is attributable to raw material costs. The alloy surcharges that North American and European mills add to their basis figures have jumped by over 160% since the start of this year. The alloy surcharge today accounts for the majority of the transaction price. However, this does not appear to have kept buyers out of the market to any severe degree. Mills report steady demand from end-users, with delivery lead-times for some products stretching into January and even February. Some supply constraints are also affecting current market dynamics.
