While steel prices rose until March, they stabilised in April and fell slightly in May.
Is this the beginning of a longer-term general trend? It is still too early to say.
The various steel suppliers on Filame’s panel have reported a drop in orders for these products over the last four weeks.
They explain this on the one hand by a car market that is clearly down, notably due to the shortage of components. Other factors such as the war in Ukraine and the prolonged lockdown in China which has brought many companies to a standstill are also cited as having some influence. All this has led to a drop in demand which has had a downward influence on prices.
Thus, while hot rolled coils were trading between €1330 and €1450/tonne in March and April, prices in April were more in the region of €1200/tonne. For cold rolled coils the price is just below 1300 €/tonne. Wire follows the same trend. Of course, one has to pay attention to the qualities and quantities desired, which also have an influence on the price level.
It is not possible to say for the moment whether stainless steel prices will follow the same direction. Indeed, while the steel component may decrease, the alloy surcharge, which currently represents about 60% of the price, had risen sharply again in May. Stainless steel prices are therefore much more linked to the evolution of Nickel and Chromium prices for which demand remains very strong.