Demand for flat products has shown glimmer of improvement albeit from the service centres and stockiest but the end user demand products remains weak. However are trooping back to the market, albeit only for need based requirement to replenish their dwindling stocks. The gloom is compounded by the dwindling Industrial Production in the EU 27 dropped by 0.9% MoM in April 2009 as compared to March 2009.
This has encouraged producers to attempt higher offers, although customers are jittery in accepting the increases. The weakening of US dollar against the euro has made imports more competitive thereby scuttling the ambitions of suppliers. Long term bookings are absent with such a woeful state of real consumption.
The general sentiment is becoming better and better by the time. Operators are sharing the feeling that prices have definitely left bottom and will not go back anymore, at least in the next future or till the year end. Mills have seen their order books filled in basically no time and thus left with the big question mark on whether or not to re install the spare production capacity that was cut months ago. The buyers are on the contrary left with a market that is not showing any sign of an improving demand, while unemployment and redundancy funds are reaching the picks since more than 10 years.