The price swings seen since 2003 have been set off mainly by developments in the market in China - a frenzied expansion of import demand, followed by a sudden de-stocking, an initial recovery, then de-stocking again. Now China is importing again, but the present price recovery reflects a more general restocking around the world. While there may be a case for arguing that China's entry into markets has changed the steel market, the two charts show that as far as the HR coil market is concerned the seismic change occurred as a result of the multiple crises in Asia in 1997. The first chart shows prices within the USA and in the EU together with Japan's export prices. Use of the domestic prices in the two Atlantic markets reflects the fact that, for all their internal differences, there is extensive trade between them; their prices show some links, although currency movements sometimes distort differences. Internal Japanese prices are rather more insulated, but export prices are linked to some extent to US prices.
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