The US dollar is currently under enormous pressure. The weakness of the dollar has been triggered by the stalling US economy and lower US key interest rates. In this environment the oil price is climbing to unprecedented highs. Is the weak dollar perhaps to blame?

Our expectation, voiced last year and at the beginning of this year, that commodities would undergo a period of consolidation in 2005 has so far proved correct. How long will this phase last, and when can we expect the long-term upward trend to continue?

Despite in part sizeable raw material resources, prices are set to remain high in the years ahead. This is especially true for the basic materials needed for steel production. As a result many small and medium-sized enterprises involved in metal processing and the manufacture of metal products are threatened with extinction despite brimming order books.