Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Market Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Stainless Steel Scrap in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Stainless Steel Scrap Price Trend for First Half of 2023

Asia

In 2023, the prices of stainless-steel scrap faced a difficult first quarter as the demand from the downstream industries was weak while the level of inventories rose consistently. Along with the domestic sector, the overseas sector also showcased feeble movements, and thus, with declined trading activities, the prices of stainless-steel scrap also nosedived.

However, the initial phase of the second quarter was favorable for the stainless-steel scrap market, especially in China, as it was backed by high costs of feedstock materials and high demand from the end-user sector. But this trajectory was short-lived, and with the influx of low-cost raw materials, the price trend of stainless-steel scrap again dipped in the latter half of the second quarter of 2023.

Europe

The price trend of stainless-steel scrap in the European countries was stable in the first quarter as the consistent demand for stainless-steel scrap was not countered by the limited supply. After a long phase of disruption caused by COVID-19, the rates of consumption returned to their normal levels, which further helped the market of stainless-steel scrap to remain afloat.

During the initial phase of the second quarter, the high number of sales from the automotive industries and the rise in prices of feedstock materials boosted the positive movement of stainless-steel scrap prices.

However, in the latter half, the market sentiments were adversely affected by poor economic growth, a rise in inflation, and a steep decline in demand from the downstream industries, causing the price trend of stainless-steel scrap to move southwards.

North America

In North America, the prices of stainless-steel scrap remained positive in the first quarter as the construction industries showcased positive demand, and the high cost of raw materials pushed the trend in the positive zone. Similar to the European markets, the spike in prices in the early months of the second quarter caused by the expansion of the service industry and strong domestic demand was soon countered by rising rates of inflation and the collapse of the US economy.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Stainless-Steel Scrap is expected to decline in the upcoming quarters as the global economic conditions do not seem suitable for the growth of the stainless-steel scrap market.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Stainless Steel Scrap. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.