Stainless Steel surcharge remain flat
Surcharges announced today by Outokumpu show that they have remained fairly level. Nickel has moved around the $16,000 - $17,000 per tonne range, so this has kept surcharges fairly constant. The feeling is that surcharges and stainless steel prices are generally close to the bottom of the cycle. Experts within the industry feel that longer term there is only one way for prices to go and that is upwards. The big question though is when? At the moment there are no signs to indicate stainless steel prices will spike upwards.
One factor that may contribute to an upswing is the proposed Nickel export tariffs and eventual ban by Indonesia . Indonesia exports around 14% of the worlds Nickel supply and has implemented a 20% tax on ore exports and proposed a complete ban by 2014.
The surcharges for the key grades are listed below:-
304 / 1.4301 – 1406 EUR 1133 GBP
316 / 1.4404 – 2150 EUR 1731 GBP
430 / 1.4016 - 524 EUR 422 GBP










