Asian Highlights

摘要

In China, prices firmed in December after stainless steel producers recommended price floors last month. Inventory has been falling and we have seen some uptick in capacity utilisation with approximately 50 percent of halted production capacity being reinstated. MBR believes that prices could continue to post modest falls in the coming weeks as business activity slows further, nevertheless we do expect that prices will eventually stabilise in the first quarter of 2009. It is unlikely that markets in China, Japan and South Korea will see a significant rally until the third quarter of 2009.