The weekly Superalloy prices rose by 3-5¢/lb across all grades on Thursday despite a decline in LME Nickel prices.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C rose by 5¢/lb to $5.09/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard and increased for Hastelloy X by 3¢/lb to $3.71/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 also grew by 3¢/lb to $4.82/lb delivered and was up by 5¢/lb for 601 to $3.95/lb delivered processor yard.
Inconel 617 moved up by 3¢/lb to $3.72/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac rose by the same amount to $4.21/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac increased by 5¢/lb to $3.45/lb delivered processor yard.
The official LME Nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $15,999/mt, down by $435/mt from $16,434/mt on Mar 11.
Processors have become cautious with buying material on pricing uncertainty due to the constant fluctuations in the LME nickel market. Like stainless steel, superalloys prices have also been affected by this uncertainty with processors preferring short-term smaller volume deals rather than trading bigger forward trade volumes.