Finland-based stainless steel producer Outokumpu has said that in Q4 2010 it expects its average base price for all its flat products to decline by up to €50/mt compared to Q3 2010 due to weaker geographic and product mix. Meanwhile, the comparable market and product specific base prices are, however, expected to remain relatively unchanged in Q4.
Outokumpu noticed that some pick-up in demand for standard grades has occurred after the summer period in Europe. However, demand for special grades and products continues to be softer and no clear recovery among investment-driven end-use segments has taken place.
While Q4 prices were foreseen to be "somewhat soft", Outokumpu's deliveries of stainless steel are expected to improve compared to Q3 and to be close to volumes in Q2, i.e., about 339,000 mt.
"Fourth quarter underlying operational results are expected to improve to around break-even due to higher volumes but somewhat softer prices," Outokumpu said.