Worldstainless, the body representing the global stainless steel industry, expects consumption to recover, next year. However, energy costs, developments in the war in Ukraine, and measures adopted by governments to combat inflation provide substantial risks to the forecast.

Major European stainless steel mills began reducing their output in the middle of 2022, as energy costs soared. That trend is expected to continue, in the final three months of this year. Demand from local distributors is weak.

At the onset of the war in Ukraine, supply concerns caused stockists to place large orders. Their inventories are now inflated. Moreover, end-user consumption is falling. The Eurozone purchasing managers’ indices, for the manufacturing and construction sectors, are currently below 50. The figures indicate that activity in those segments is dropping.