The international steel market is in the doldrums, but Abu Dhabi is bucking the trend with a massive investment plan for this sector Steel is the world's largest metals market. More than 1.2 billion tonnes will be produced in 2009 and it is worth more than half a trillion dollars. Almost 50 per cent is produced in China. Practically all of it is directly traded. Negligible amounts of the growing volume of steel moving across borders are exchange-traded. This is convenient for an industry still driven by giant smelting corporations that dominate the iron ore market and determine the downstream balance between demand and supply.
展开▼
