European AL6XN Prices Decline Amidst Persistently Weak End-User Demand

In the last week of June, the Al6XN Plate prices showcased a declining price momentum in the European market due to the surplus inventory level. As per market players, rising supply and limited downstream demand adversely affected the AL6XN Plate prices. The prices of feedstock Nickel and Chromium declined in late June. The manufacturers in the local market are facing downward pressure from various macroeconomic factors and rising production costs that have resulted in reduced prices of AL6XN.

In the European spot market, the price of feedstock Nickel has declined as the demand from the downstream battery sector decreased, which reduced its market price by roughly 2.0% this week. Along with that, the decline in demand for feedstock Chromium from the downstream steel manufacturers led to the bearish price of Chromium. Furthermore, the feedstock Iron-ore has also shown a decrease in price as the supply chain gets disrupted due to the invasion of the Russian Federation over Ukraine as they accounted for supplying about 60%of commercial pig iron. Due to various trade restrictions sanctioned over Russian-origin products, the Russian government is now looking forward to new markets and is forced to supply pig iron at a relatively lower price in European and other markets. This has resulted in a decrease in alloy surcharges and ultimately reduced the AL6XN prices in Europe.

The inventory level of AL6XN remained high as the production rate of local mills was on the higher verge. The demand from overseas markets, especially the USA, tumbled as they imposed countervailing duties on the imported goods from the European market to protect their local suppliers from loss. The downstream industry, such as the Chemical and marine industries, showed a pessimistic market sentiment that decreased the demand for the AL6XN alloy in the local market. The high energy cost has put downward pressure on the European AL6XN market price as the production cost surges, but the demand remains low, which forced the local mills to lower their offer prices even after higher production cost and led to the loss of AL6XN manufacturing industries in the European spot market. Meanwhile, the import of AL6XN from overseas manufacturers was on a higher edge as Turkiye and other European countries imported surplus Stainless-steel products from the Indian and Chinese markets, which provoked the domestic manufacturing industries to lower their prices. The suppliers plan to cut production to reduce the supply-demand gap until the market retains its normal condition.

According to Chemanalyst, the price of AL6XN will show a declining trend amid decreasing prices of feedstock such as Nickel, Chromium, and Iron ore as well as overseas suppliers. The demand is expected to be weak for the upcoming month due to the decline in the downstream industries. The inventory level will remain high, forcing the local mills to sell at a much lower price to sustain in the European spot market.