UPDATE 1-Outokumpu sees stainless steel prices still rising
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BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Stainless steel prices are moving higher and global economic uncertainty has yet to impact the sector, Juha Rantanen, chief executive of Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu (OUT1V.HE) said on Thursday.
"Everyone agrees that prices are moving up gradually. There is positive momentum," Rantanen told Reuters. "We still see very good end-user demand."
Much stainless steel was going into big energy-related projects such as for liquefied natural gas and oil production.
"I don't believe these types of projects will be impacted by the financial crisis," Rantanen said.
Outokumpu stuck to its earlier forecasts that stainless steel prices will edge up 100-125 euros per tonne to 1,200 to 1,225 to 1,250 by late March.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the European Business Summit conference in Brussels.
Rantanen welcomed the European Commission's probe into whether imports of stainless steel from China, Taiwan and Korea can be characterised as dumping.
"We would argue it is dumping because they are using this kind of state-aid kind of system," Rantanen said.
"It's a concern for the industry there is such an overcapacity being developed in China in the last two to three years and it's had an impact on the European market," Rantanen said.
Rantanen said that in the long term, the Chinese producers don't have a sustainable model to keep exporting cheap stainless steel because electricity and raw materials costs are rising for them as well.
"I don't really think that, long-term, Chinese players would become really a big export industry," Rantanen said.
At the rate Chinese demand for stainless steel is growing, the Asian giant's market will be in balance within a few years as no major new production capacity is being built, Rantanen said. (Editing by Quentin Bryar)
