Superalloy prices dropped across most grades on Thursday despite increasing LME nickel prices.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C remained at $4.45/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard and fell by 5¢/lb for Hastelloy X to $3.06/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 also declined by 5¢/lb to $4.06/lb delivered while Inconel 601 dropped by 4¢/lb to $3.23/lb delivered processor yard.
The Davis Index for Inconel 617 fell by 2¢/lb to $3.08/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac decreased by the same amount to $3.52/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac was down by 10¢/lb to $2.94/lb delivered processor yard on Thursday.
The official LME nickel cash contract closed on Thursday at $14,430/mt, up by $45/mt from Wednesday.
The demand for superalloys has remained low entering the last quarter of 2020 and processors expect it to weaken further as the market moves towards the end of the year. As a result, prices are also expected to trend down, especially for Inconel grades, in keeping with the historical trends observed during this time of the year.