US nickel scrap prices have declined recently, although margin have fallen by a smaller degree, according to industry sources. In keeping with the erosion of primary nickel prices on the LME, contained-nickel prices in scrap line dipped below the 3 dollars/lb mark for the first time in nearly two years. Stainless producers, the main consumers of nickel scrap, are producing less this year than they did in 1995, with imports of stainless sheet to the US market being part of the reason for the slowdown. US mills were paying approximately 775 dollars/gross ton last month for scrap, or 2.93 dollars/lb for contained nickel, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (Isri) in Washington. This represented a discount to LME three-month nickel prices of around 20 cents/lb.
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