The European stainless steel market has been lacking momentum throughout the beginning of 2016, according to the Stainless Steel Report February 2016 issued by Germany-based service center Damstahl. Most hopes for an early recovery vanished in face of again falling alloy surcharges and rock bottom raw material prices.
Meanwhile, in spite of a more positive tone in the overall Dutch economy, this momentum has not yet translated into a stronger stainless market. Due to recent base price developments and the falling alloy surcharges the market seems to wait for better prices again, despite shrinking stock levels. Despite falling price levels, the demand in the German stainless steel market remains stable with even a tendency towards higher consumption levels. Inventories of distributors are still elevated and delivery times remain short. Nevertheless the price competition is being kept up, especially as the alloy surcharge for March is likely to go down once again.
According to the Damstahl report, the Swedish krona has weakened against the euro by around 3 percent this year. 2016 started somewhat promising for the Swedish stainless steel industry as end user orders started to pick up in late January. Stock levels seem to remain stable now after a long period of destocking. The competition in the Danish stainless steel market remains fierce and the battle for both customers and volumes continues. Price levels are low and get dragged further down among other things due to the falling alloy surcharge.