US stainless steel processor buying prices trended up and rangebound on Wednesday with strong mill demand through the week.
The weekly Davis Index for 201 solids rose by 0.8¢/lb to 56.3¢/lb delivered processor yard and increased for 301 solids by 5¢/lb to 77¢/lb for single truckloads.
Scrap 309 solids grew by 4.4¢/lb to $1.093/lb delivered and moved up for 310 solids by 5.3¢/lb to $1.677/lb delivered. Scrap 330 solids rose by 6.8¢/lb to $2.703/lb delivered processor yard.
For 409/410 solids, the index increased by $48.9/gt to $664.4/gt delivered and grew by $50.9/gt to $776.4/gt for 430 solids delivered processor yard.
The stainless steel scrap market has been witnessing apparent movements with prices inching up over the past few weeks. A drop in LME nickel prices appears to be keeping the market in check and allowing it to settle. Participants the demand trend to last through July.
The daily Davis Index for scrap 304 solids remained at 89.5¢/lb delivered processor yard and was down for 316 solids by 0.5¢/lb to $1.177/lb for single truckloads.
Scrap 304 turnings fell by 0.3¢/lb to 85.7¢/lb delivered and increased for 316 turnings by 0.2¢/lb to $1.064/lb for single truckloads.
LME nickel prices were down by $60/mt from Tuesday, with the official three-month LME Nickel contract settling at $18,605/mt on Wednesday. The official cash contract closed at $18,382/mt today, down by $208/mt from yesterday, and down by $307/mt from $18,689/mt on Jul 14.