Superalloy prices climbed across most grades on Thursday in tandem with the increase in the LME Nickel market.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C rose by 0.4¢/lb at $4.75/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard and increased for Hastelloy X by the same amount to $3.17/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 also inched up by 0.6¢/lb to $4.19/lb delivered and dropped by 0.4¢/lb for 601 to $3.24/lb delivered processor yard.
Inconel 617 grew by 0.3¢/lb to $3.12/lb delivered processor yard and Inconel 625 Vac jumped by 0.4¢/lb to $3.62/lb delivered. The index for Inconel 718 Vac remained unchanged at $2.75/lb delivered processor yard on Thursday.
The official LME Nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $15,937/mt, up by $87/mt from $15,975/mt on Nov 25.
Inconel prices have followed the trend set by stainless steel over the past two weeks and increased. However, demand for Inconel has not risen as much as the need for stainless steel because of which the market has been slower to react to the price growth. As a result, processors are still uncertain about which way the superalloy market will move in the short term.