According to the latest report released by the Germany-based service center Damstahl, the European stainless steel demand would decrease by 2% this year and continue to fall a further 2% in 2013.

The report indicated that the European stainless demand is not as bad as the sentiment suggest although the European stainless steel market has been affected by the negative macroeconomic news.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear if the European stainless mills can achieve the price hike for this quarter as the nickel prices slide and demands remains weak, according to Damstahl.

The demand for stainless steel from end users will remain soft in the following few months, in particular some important process industries may continue weak.