Superalloy prices increased for most grades on Thursday but are expected to trend down following an uncertain market outlook.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C fell by 3¢/lb to $6.31/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard and was up by 4¢/lb for Hastelloy X to $4.51/lb delivered.
Inconel 600 grew by 5¢/lb to $5.85/lb and increased for Inconel 601 by 4¢/lb to $4.61/lb delivered processor yard. Inconel 617 Vac climbed by 1¢/lb to $4.02/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac increased by 2¢/lb to $5.65/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac, however, dropped by 3¢/lb to $4.32/lb delivered processor yard.
The official LME Nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $19,440/mt, down by $329/mt from $19,769/mt on Jul 29.
Superalloy prices have risen over the past two weeks in tandem with increasing stainless steel prices. However, the latter has started trending down following a weaker outlook on mill demand for September. Superalloy prices are likely to follow the same trend with processors expecting their prices to decrease over the next few weeks.