On December 17, 2025, stainless steel scrap prices in India remained unchanged for the second consecutive week, with 304-grade stainless steel scrap quoted at ₹107,000/tonne EX-Delhi. Meanwhile, selective spot sellers and buyers agreed on prices ranging between ₹101,000 and ₹103,000/tonne for most of the country. The 316-grade stainless steel scrap price remains unchanged at ₹207,000/tonne EX-Delhi. The 430-grade stainless steel scrap price traded DAP Mumbai for ₹56,700/tonne and utensil stainless steel scrap at ₹59,000/tonne EX-Delhi, also unchanged from last week.

Stainless steel producers continue to hold large inventories of stainless steel scrap and have opted not to place new December orders due to poor demand for finished stainless steel products. As a result, the level of stainless-steel scrap procurement activity and trade in major markets such as Ludhiana and Delhi is quite subdued at this time. Furthermore, falling molybdenum prices have led to reduced interest in buying 316-grade stainless steel scrap and prompted several steel producers to shift to the less expensive 304 stainless steel scrap option instead. The London Metals Exchange (LME) nickel price fell 2% week-over-week to bring today's total nickel price down to $14,635/tonne; this has been exacerbated by year-end caution in the marketplace.

Overall, we expect that the pricing of stainless-steel scrap will continue to be range-bound through December with very limited volatility due to poor stainless steel scrap offtakes and very high levels of stainless-steel scrap inventory. The only way for stainless steel scrap prices to see a meaningful recovery will be from improvements in the demand for stainless steel from the infrastructure and automotive markets.