Although the current stainless steel market is not active, the global fourth-largest steel manufacturer, South Korea Posco said on Monday that the situation will be improved in fourth quarter.

“We expect global steel prices to rebound in the fourth quarter after a slight fall in the third quarter,” according to a statement from the company.

Posco will decrease stainless steel output around 50,000 tons in July and August due to the price drop in nickel. Besides, the company also cut down stainless steel prices.

The price of nickel which is the major material for producing stainless steel has declined from US$50,000/ton in June to US$32,000/ton now.

One of Posco’s major customers, Hyundai Steel has halted production for one week from 3 July because of slower demands.

According to the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), global stainless steel output have increased by 15.1 percent to 7.57 million tons in first quarter of 2007 compared with the same period of last year.

The jump in stainless steel production is mainly from Asia, central and Eastern Europe. In Asia, stainless output has raised by 25.1 percent from 3.34 million tons to 4.19 million tons.