Stainless prices for July have dropped steeply thanks to plunges in raw materials such as nickel, ferrochrome and molybdenum. The four big domestic producers (ATI, AK, NAS, Outokumpu) all announced surcharge decreases ranging between (8.45) percent to (12.52) percent for Types 201, 304, 316 and 430 products. Base prices were reported holding reasonably steady. Like carbon steel, stainless prices were thought to be impacted by the U.S. DOC’s Section 232 investigation, although it was unclear whether stainless would be included in any sanctions.

Nickel on the LME fell below $9,000 a ton for several days in June before slightly recovering late in the month, but nickel still is selling for around $2,000 less than the yearly highs of more than $11,000 reached in February. European ferrochrome was reported down (28.6) percent for the third quarter compared with the second.