In 2023, the European stainless steel market was under a weak situation in the past ten years because low orders made the output significantly cut. In addition, high inflation and inventories greatly reduced producers' profitability.

With interest rates becoming stable and stock levels at downstream service centers normalizing, marketing participants indicated that the growth will still be slow for at least the first half year. The end users' industries, such as the manufacturing and construction industries, will recover slowly.

The main factor that caused the European market recovery was the macroeconomic situation. Cutting loan costs was considered to play an important role in the development of new energy sources, such as wind and solar power.

Demand from heat pump installations, electric vehicles, and consumer goods throughout the value chain was low. However, the industry was expected to grow significantly in the second half year.