According to the Stainless Steel Report November 2012 issued by Germany-based service center Damstahl, European stainless steel production is expected to be around 1.7 million mt in the third quarter of 2012, stable compared to the same period of 2011. European stainless steel crude steel production fell slightly from 2.1 million mt recorded in in the first quarter of the year to 2 million mt in the second quarter, decreasing around one percent compared to the second quarter of 2011.
The sentiment in the European stainless steel market is currently depressed as a result of all the negative news coming from macroeconomics. However, real market numbers prove that actual stainless demand is not as bad as the market sentiment. A demand drop by around two percent is expected for 2012. There is justified hope, according to Damstahl, that the market will at least remain stagnant in the region this year.
Damstahl also noted that the European stainless steel market will not recover in the short term. Demand from end-users is expected to remain soft in the coming months - there is a risk that particularly the situation in important process industries will continue to weaken. It is expected that the European stainless steel market will fall by another two percent next year.