US superalloy prices decreased amid falling LME nickel prices and market uncertainty during the week.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C fell by 9¢/lb to $5.13/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard and decreased for Hastelloy X by 13¢/lb to $3.81/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 also dropped by 9¢/lb to $5.03/lb and was down by the same amount for 601 to $4.04/lb delivered processor yard.
Inconel 617 declined by 13¢/lb to $3.72/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac fell by 22¢/lb to $4.31/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac dropped by 19¢/lb to $3.40/lb delivered processor yard on Thursday.
The official LME Nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $16,144/mt, down by $3,424/mt from $19,568/mt on Feb 25.
The superalloy processor buying prices have declined this week in tandem with plummeting LME nickel prices. Like the stainless-steel market, processors in the superalloys industry are unsure of the market’s direction in March, preferring instead to wait for the US ferrous market for March to settle before adjusting their prices. The US ferrous market began trading on Thursday afternoon at up $50-70/gt against February settled prices.