Prices of East Asian-origin 304 stainless cold rolled sheets rise by $200/tonne in the end of March. Offer prices for Korean producers are now $3,300-3,400/t, up from $3,100-3,200/t in the last week. Moreover, Taiwan’s largest stainless steelmakers, Yieh United Steel Corp (Yusco), also announced an increase of $200-300/t to its April export prices.
Price hike in Asian stainless steel was the result of higher raw material prices. On 31 March, three-month nickel prices just reach a $25,000/tonne level, outpace the last year’s high record of $24,970/tonne.
