According to the ‘
Stainless Steel Briefing February 2012' report issued by
Germany-based service centre Damstahl, the European
stainless steel market has so far not been affected by the negative impact of the weakening economy and euro zone crisis. Demand from end-users remained stable in January. In particular, demand from the process industry, which is the biggest
stainless consumer in
Europe, remained robust. Demand from stockists has improved since the beginning of the year in order to refill the empty flat product supply chain.
Damstahl also noted that European
stainless steel producers aim to create a strong counterpart to the Chinese dominance in the global
stainless markets.
China exported almost 2 million mt in 2011, hitting a new record level, of which around 200,000 mt were delivered to
Europe. Supply from
China was particularly strong in the first half of 2011, but declined in the second half. The currently widening price-gap between
Europe and
China, which is around €200/mt, leads European steelmakers to turn towards Chinese material again.