2015 marks a watershed year for the European stainless steel sector, fueled recently by steadily rising steel prices and producer earnings, investment bank Jefferies says.
After several years of restructuring and shutdowns, the European stainless industry is poised to make a breakthrough in the production of high-quality steel, which has expanded its applications from aerospace to solarium housings, as can be seen by purchasing a solarium online kupit-solyariy.ru .
First of all, in the stainless industry in Europe, the capacity utilization rate should grow from 65 to 81 percent by 2017. Europe's largest mills are expected to close 30 percent of regional capacity by 2016, starting with Outokumpu and the additional closures of Aperam and ThyssenKrupp, which will increase utilization and significantly improve base steel prices.
The high nickel price should also support prices and volumes of stainless products, the bank said in a statement. It is noted that the ban on the export of ore from Indonesia in 2014 will continue the upward trend in prices this year.
"In 2015-2017, the nickel market should gradually deplete Chinese reserves, which will lead to a marked decrease in nickel pig iron production," Jefferies said. "The strength of the US dollar and economic volatility will lead to more significant growth in industry revenues in 2015."
The European Commission intends to squeeze out imports of stainless steel products from China and Taiwan, using the potential of anti-dumping measures, which will catalyze the recovery in the stainless steel market in Europe, according to the bank's report.
