Business is subdued, in the United States. There are plenty of projects waiting to start, especially in the energy sector. These have been delayed due to credit tightness or general caution regarding the health of the economy. The domestic mills attempted to increase basis prices in order to offset lower alloy surcharges. However, they have been unable to secure sales at these values. There has been some recovery in demand in Japan since last month. Buyers are still trying to limit their year-end inventories but activity is anticipated to increase in the new year. Stockists in South Korea, particularly the larger ones, are curbing their purchasing in an attempt to minimise their stock levels at the turn of the year. Posco's selling values are unchanged.
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