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    Analysis

    Ethan Bernard, SMU Team

    November 4, 2025

    Final Thoughts

    Written by Ethan Bernard

    It’s hard to believe we’ve slid well into the final quarter of 2025. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and soon we will be ringing in the new year. But we’re not exactly close to popping the champagne just yet. While 2025 was a year of trade disruption, what are the chances 2026 will be a year when equilibrium is reached?

    That word equilibrium is a slippery one, though. For example, the Covid-19 crisis has passed, but few people think the world has ever fully snapped back. Especially since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, 2019 seems a long-gone memory. At the same time, markets always move forward. Like the Great White Shark, they keep moving forward or they pass away. So how do you avoid getting swallowed up by the market?

    Ethan Bernard

    Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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