Superalloy prices increased across most grades on Thursday despite a drop in LME nickel prices.
The weekly Davis Index for Hastelloy C ticked up to $4.434/lb for single truckload delivered processor yard from $4.432/lb delivered on Thursday and increased for Hastelloy X to $2.891/lb delivered from $2.867/lb delivered.
The index for Inconel 600 rose to $3.814/lb delivered from $3.793/lb delivered processor yard while Inconel 601 jumped to $3.004/lb delivered from $2.993/lb delivered. Inconel 617 decreased to $2.975/lb delivered from $2.996/lb delivered. Inconel 625 Vac rose to $3.270/lb delivered from $3.261/lb delivered while Inconel 718 Vac dropped to $3.026/lb delivered processor yard from $3.029/lb delivered on Thursday.
The official LME nickel cash contract closed Thursday at $14,106/mt, down by $61/mt from Wednesday.
Superalloy prices are expected to continue to move within a narrow range as processors are seeing a drop in demand for high-temp material amid declining LME nickel prices. In fact, some processors are already working on a 50pc down time basis to adjust their profitability due to this trend, which could result in a fall in high temp alloy prices moving forward.