Key Market Indicators Trending Up for Steel

Steel market indicators look good in the September data. Our view of the present situation is that 50 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance of them are within the band of historically normal. This was the same result as May and August. Along with September, these three months were the best since our analysis began in January 2010. The trends are still good with 72 percent of the indicators heading in a positive direction, though down from 83 percent in March. In the last eight months, the indicator group as a whole has been trending better than at any time since we began this analysis. Trends lead the present situation by about four months.

See the end of this article for an explanation of the Key Indicators concept. It explains 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. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is 36.