EU lead times for steel and stainless steel continue to lengthen and now appear to have reached January 2022. India has not yet reached the end of possible EU measures with the anti-dumping case on stainless steel. Nickel prices are rising again. And the Eurozone PMI rose in April.
EU lead times extending to January 2022
Market sources report that the first European steel producers have arrived at lead times of January 2022. This is said to mainly affect small and medium-sized steel and stainless steel consumers from the downstream industry and distributors. This further tightens steel and stainless steel sourcing options for European companies.
EU anti-dumping India: what’s next?
As we have already reported, the European Commission has decided to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled stainless steel flat products from India and Indonesia.
But this is not the end of the issue for India and Indonesia. An ongoing EU anti-subsidy case against Indian and Indonesian stainless steel exports is still ongoing. And so far, neither provisional measures nor a trend are known.
Nickel stocks on LME and SHFE
Currently, nickel is quoted at around $17,972 per ton on the LME (as of May 4, 2021, 8:55 am GMT+1). Due to the holidays in China, there are currently no new quotes on the SHFE.
Stocks on the LME increased cumulatively by 1800 mt in April.
Stocks on the SHFE fell by 2600 mt in April.
The Shanghai Future Exchange currently seems to outrank the LME as the most important indicator for base metals.
Source: lme.com, shfe.com.cn
Eurozone: PMI increased in April 2021
The Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the eurozone came in at 62.9 points in April, up from 62.5 points in March and down from the earlier flash estimate of 63.3 points.
According to Markit, new orders rose sharply in April as both manufacturers and customers anticipate a sharp increase in activity in the coming months as pandemic-related restrictions are eased. In addition, new export orders rose at a notable pace in April.
Source: markiteconomics.com
Read also:
- Stainless Espresso: Alloy surcharges May 2021
- Stainless Espresso: New Provisional Anti-Dumping Duties
- Stainless Espresso: Chinese steel prices to rise by $250 per ton
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