The market is likely to remain divided between the energy sectors and the rest of demand. The immediate outlook in most of eastern Asia is for another month of reduced activity; the 2012 market will not open fully until mid-February. The general downward drift in raw materials and steel prices, together with China's continued need to adjust excess stocks, and gloom over the failure of eurozone authorities to find a way to grow out of debt and recession, makes most buyers for general grades of pipe and tube reluctant to order and leads those that do order insistent on price discounts. By contrast, processing and specialised production facilities limit supply at the upper end of markets, where demand is likely to continue to be buoyant, whether in reviving passenger car and capital goods sectors or the oil and gas industry. A serious setback in the eurozone will have effects around the world, and these markets will not be immune, but self-sustained growth in the Asian economies will ensure some continued growth even in the worst circumstances
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