While the US steel market in mid-June started to show some signs of life, the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) question whether this is another minor blip in the inventory restocking cycles that have occurred since the so-called ‘end of the Great Recession’.

The underlying economic data, AIIS report in their June Newsletter, do not provide reasons for much optimism.
The US Department of Labour released its monthly unemployment data in early June, which showed a small increase in unemployment, from 7.5% in April to 7.6% in May an increase of 175000 jobs lost, and, while the size of the labour market increased slightly, this was mainly in the Service Sector. The long-term unemployment data showed no change from April.

Source AIIS www.aiis.org