For the Quarter Ending June 2022
North America
Hastelloy prices witnessed an upswing trend in the USA during the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to the Russia-Ukraine war and its aftermath. Manufacturers were upbeat about the production outcome, but concerns about rising geopolitical tensions, supply chain chaos, and rising inflationary pressures pushed confidence to its lowest level in six months. Prolonged delivery times, severe raw material and capacity shortages on the supplier side, and a softer decline in seller performance, on the other hand, resulted in steep increases in cost burdens and selling prices. Meanwhile, companies consistently hire new employees to relieve capacity pressures as backlogs have gradually increased since February 2021. According to market participants, manufacturing activity in the United States has abruptly decreased as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy to combat inflation. Due to the ripple effect, Hastelloy C-276 and Hastelloy B-3 prices for Ex Florida settled at USD 110230/MT and USD 330690/MT, respectively.
Asia Pacific
Hastelloy prices fell in China in the second quarter of 2022 due to yuan depreciation pressure. Due to supply depletion and rising raw material costs, Hastelloy prices skyrocketed in April. Due to tight supply and demand for molybdenum concentrates in China and increased market buying interest, molybdenum prices in China skyrocketed in the first half of April. Furthermore, most mills ceased operations due to a lack of imported nickel-based raw materials, high costs amid high LME nickel prices, limited transportation activity during the pandemic crisis, and a backlog of finished products at mills. According to market participants, currency depreciation pressure on the yuan is intense, and an inflection point is likely when China's manufacturing industry returns to normal. The Ukraine war's economic impact and expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates more slowly than the Fed have weighed on the yuan. On the other hand, normalizing the inflation rate may take at least the third quarter. As a ripple effect, the Hastelloy B-2 prices for Ex Shanghai (China) settled at USD 48650/MT.
MEA
The Hastelloy prices in the United Arab Emirates witnessed a spiraling trend in the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to the stable demand from the end-users sectors amidst the heightened economic uncertainty and the sharply rising raw material prices. As per market participants, the aftermath effect of war on raw materials will take time to decrease the inflationary pressure and cost-push up. However, the firms are struggling to keep up with demand, with work backlogs increasing sharply over the past few months. Furthermore, inflationary pressures on business costs increased. Midway through the second quarter, companies noted a solid but slower increase in input purchases. The slowing of purchasing growth can be attributed partly to firms drawing down inventories rather than purchasing new materials due to increased caution about spending. Purchase stocks increased marginally in May and June. As a ripple effect, Hastelloy C-276 and Hastelloy B-2 prices for Ex Dubai (United Arab Emirates) settled at USD 45180/MT and USD 82620/MT.
For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
In the US market, the Hastelloy prices witnessed an inclining trend owing to the limited availability of the quotations and soaring raw material prices in the regional market amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Amidst this, the rising prices of fuel and energy, raw materials, and limited transportation due to port congestion further fuelled the uptick trend of the Hastelloy. As per market participants, the resurgence of COVID in China has two-folded the impact on the inflation rate. The rising cost pressure and stretched supply chain further prompted manufacturers to pass the surging costs over to consumers. As a ripple effect, robust demand and an increasing inflationary rate forced buyers to purchase the quotations of Hastelloy at a higher rate.
Asia Pacific
The Hastelloy C-276 in the Asian market has witnessed bullish market sentiments since the beginning of Q1. The persistently skyrocketing prices of Hastelloy C-276 were majorly backed by the soaring costs of raw materials such as Chromium, nickel, and molybdenum. The war in Eastern Europe pushed up energy prices and the price of Chromium. China's strict environmental protection policies to reduce carbon emissions impact Chinese ferrochromium production. The lunar new year holidays and the restrictions imposed due to the winter Olympics kept the market dynamics bullish throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, the demand outlook remains healthy against the pressurized production in India. Furthermore, supply chain disruption in Canada due to strikes, flooding in Russian mines, COVID restrictions, and the global energy crisis has resulted in a surge in Hastelloy C-276 prices. Hastelloy C276 Ex Mumbai prices in India settled at INR 4617450/MT in March 2022.
Europe
During the Q1 of 2022, the Hastelloy prices witnessed an inclining trend owing to inflation over raw material costs amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war. As per market participants, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused market panic about supply shortages, resulting in dramatic price increases for iron ore and coking coal. Increasing procurement risk, financial support constraints, non-accessibility due to port congestion, growing uncertainty about availability in the regional market, and rising safety and security concerns are among the significant factors driving sentiments in commodity markets worldwide. As a ripple effect, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and its aftermath, particularly on raw material and logistics, is impacting supply and demand-side movements.
