Global Hastelloy Prices Show Bearish Trend Due to Falling Feedstock Cost in Early June 2023

In the first week of June 2023, Hastelloy showed a decline in the price trend of both Grade B-3 and C-276 by more than 3.2 % in the global market. The price of the feedstock of Hastelloy, such as Nickel, Chromium has been at a lower edge, and the demand has been decreasing from the downstream automobile industries globally, which ultimately led to the Hastelloy price decline. Several market players still claim that the dwindling economy and buying interest provoked Hastelloy prices to inch southward.

The major feedstock for Hastelloy, such as Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium, Tungsten, and Molybdenum, have been at a lower edge in the global market. As per market players, the price of Nickel declined by 2.8% in the global market in the first week of June owing to the surplus inventory. The world’s largest producers of Nickel, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, have increased their production, which led to surplus inventories in the global market. Additionally, the demand for Nickel from the local Chinese downstream automobile sector has declined. The deteriorating economy has been faced globally in various countries such as the USA, China, Turkey, and many others that reduced their trading movement, ultimately declining demand for Hastelloy.

As another raw material for Hastelloy, the price of Cobalt has declined as the price dropped by 5.6% in early June from May 2023. The ambient supply of Cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major producer of Cobalt, has led to surplus inventories in the global market. As a major consumer of Cobalt, China has been facing economic instability that reduced its amount of Cobalt import. The global downstream automobile market has decreased the demand for Cobalt as they are all shifting to Electric Vehicles that have lesser Cobalt usage. As a result, the Hastelloy prices are facing a downward momentum this week.

Meanwhile, the price of feedstock Chromium has shown a stable trend. The global economic slowdown and rising inflation in various countries are creating difficulty in the further price rise of Chromium. South Africa, a leading producer of Chromium, is facing difficulties due to labor shortages, power outages, and environmental concerns that reduced chromium mining activity. The increase in the use of Nickel and Molybdenum as substitutes for Chromium for strengthening stainless steel has decreased its demand in the global steel market.

Furthermore, the price of iron ore has been declining for a long period. The reduced activity from China, as a major producer of steel, has reduced the demand and, ultimately the price of iron ore decreased in the global market. The iron ore mines from Australia and Brazil, which are major producers of iron ore, have increased their production activity, leading to an oversupply of iron ore in the inventories globally. Moreover, the feedstock Tungsten price has been in a stable movement as the demand from the USA has decreased due to its ongoing trade war with China, as China is a major tungsten producer.

According to ChemAnalyst, the Hastelloy prices are anticipated to showcase an upswing price trend due to rising demand from the downstream chemical industries, as they prefer to use it for high-temperature corrosion resistance in pressure vessels. Improving Chinese trade conditions will promote global trade growth, ultimately increasing the demand for Hastelloy. Due to soaring raw material costs and improved downstream inquiries, the Hastelloy prices are expected to glide in the northward direction.