Current situation:
- Nickel prices have stabilized over the past 30 days to @$5.41 per lb. ($5.37 in the last update). Warehouse levels were up again this month at 230,064 tons (233,682 tons in the last update).
- Producer prices for stainless pipe were down through March, falling by 0.8% M/M (up 3.1% last month); however, they were up 4.7% Y/Y (up 2.2% last month).
Key factors that could affect supply or price:
- Stainless pipe and fittings experiencing downward pressure due to historically lower prices of input metals. Nickel is trading at just over $5 per pound range, down 20% over the last 6 months and stainless steel scrap is down to 0.20 per pound for 304 grade also down significantly over the last quarter. Major domestic stainless mills are posting lower surcharge rates for April 2020, factoring lower input costs and declining demand due to current economic conditions.
