The recovery in world stainless steel markets has received a temporary setback. Demand has softened in all regions and melted production is facing a downward correction in Q4 compared with Q3. Leading the decline in stainless output is China, where production is forecast to be down by 13 percent quarter-on-quarter. But Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, being particularly reliant on exports to China at present, are also under pressure to lower stainless output in the coming months. Furthermore, hopes that an improvement in production in Europe and North America would compensate for any weakness in Asia have recently been dashed. The upturn in demand witnessed in Q3 has faded in response to the completion of a phase of re-stocking, implying that melted production in these regions will remain stable at best in Q4.
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