Superalloy prices were rangebound across most grades on Thursday following declining LME nickel prices.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C remained flat at $5.12/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard while Hastelloy X prices were unchanged at $3.77/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 was flat at $4.87/lb and was unchanged for 601 at $4.07/lb delivered processor yard.
Inconel 617 also held at $3.77/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac dropped by 0.1 ¢/lb to $4.29/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac also dropped by the same amount to $3.48/lb delivered processor yard.
The official LME Nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $16,009/mt, down by $40/mt from $16,049/mt on April 15th.
The aerospace industry has been hit severely by the pandemic and therefore demand for many high temp alloy grades like 718 has decreased a bit, pulling prices lower. However, superalloys used for making stainless steel saw a robust demand during the first quarter of the year. This has kept prices from declining significantly. Similar to the stainless steel market, participants are still trying to gauge the demand for superalloys through this quarter.