Throughout 2004, the steel market had the characteristics of a typical seller's market - with a continuously increasing worldwide steel demand and global inventories being far below the average. In parallel, the apparent consumption cycle was comparably high and accompanied by low growth in the global supply. Consequently, in 2004 capacity dominated quality because nearly the complete steel output could be sold. This picture started to change in the first quarter of 2005: Industry analysts reported higher than expected stock levels in the USA and Europe. [1] Outside Asia the situation of a seller's market seems to be no longer valid. [2] This changing market environment reduces visibility and makes different analysts come to fairly different conclusions. "However, support for the global steel economy has now only one leg - China. If demand slows by more than expected, the second half could see a decided downturn in pricing." [3]
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