Spain’s Acerinox has raised cold roll and hot roll flat steel prices for its North American Stainless (NAS) unit by 5 to 6%. The world’s biggest stainless steel maker led the European market by announcing steel price rises of EUR 100 a tonne in April and then another rise by the same amount in May. Following the first price rise, its base price — for a tonne of AISI-304 benchmark stainless steel — stood at around EUR 1500. Analysts estimate producers like Acerinox normally start to make profits at prices around EUR 1000 per tonne.