Prices hike no longer, trend reverses

摘要

A global upward price trend reversed a bit earlier than we forecast but for the same reasons: no consumption growth, sufficient stocks built on the one hand and a slump in export quotes for Chinese semis, tougher competition in the scrap segment on the other hand. We predict raw material prices to keep trending down throughout the next three months. Nevertheless, the prices will hardly move back down to levels of the start of the year as they are supported by a seasonal factor so far.