Stainless Steel Me

Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu have announced their first stainless steel increase of 2010 in the UK. Although prices have risen recently due to higher nickel prices through their alloy adjustment factor, this is the first official base price increase. The announcement made Friday by UK managing director Alison Kinna was as follows:-

As a result of extending lead-times and higher capacity utilisation rates, Outokumpu Stainless is increasing prices of all austenitic and ferritic cold rolled sheet and coil, hot rolled continuously produced plate, quarto plate effective for all deliveries from 1^st April 2010.

Material supplied from all stock routes, including our Service Centres, will be subject to the same price increase with immediate effect.

The detailed price increases are as follows:

• Austenitic CR sheet / coil                                £60 per tonne increase

• Ferritic CR sheet / coil                                     £40 per tonne increase

• Continuously produced plate                         £70 per tonne increase

• Quarto Plate                                                  £70 per tonne increase

This shows the first clear sign that demand is increasing and the mills are confident of a stronger market, especially as this comes on the back of rising surcharges. What we will have to wait and see if how Thyssen Krupp and Acerinox respond as these increases are repeated in Europe where a similar announcement is expected next week.