Key Market Indicators: A Remarkable Positive Surge in February

We at Steel Market Update (SMU) have been upbeat on the steel market for many weeks. We thought sharing our Key Market Indicators (KMI) with our readers would help everyone to understand our reading on the market and from where we get our core optimism.

An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. During February our view of the present situation improved slightly but there was a remarkable improvement in trends which were stronger than at any time since we began this analysis in January 2010. It is quite common for these two attributes to move independently as trends tend to lead the present situation by about four months.