Short Range Outlook – December 2012
Longing for better market conditions In November, long steel mills worldwide were in general bothered by lack of demand, the rise in scrap prices and the subsequent lack of conversion margins, and therefore continued to reduce production and cut supply into the market. At the same time, demand in the market has declined mostly for seasonal reasons despite the positive sentiment created by the increases in raw material prices. The raw material price... Read More
Short Range Outlook – November 2012
The market may improve in volumes Eventhough there were many announcements by several mills indicating production/supply cuts during the last few months, apparently they were not enough to improve the supply and demand balance in the market, as the market situation kept worsening due to supply pressure. Most buyers started to have lower price expectations, but later positive news coming from China has been of help for better sentiment in the market... Read More
Short Range Outlook – September 2012
Long steel products market keeps a close eye on China Global business is slowing down further. It seems that the economy in the European Union will continue struggling, and China will create more head ache in international business with its cooling economy. The long steel products market has seen some recovery in activity levels after Ramadan and the summer holidays. However, buyers remain hesitant in some geographical areas and also with regard to... Read More
Short Range Outlook – August 2012
Stagnation prevails in unpredictable long steel market Some customers in certain regions have returned to the long steel products market after a long absence. Nevertheless, for almost all products supply is still greater than demand, resulting in very difficult market conditions. Competition is very strong in the marketplace, and can even be described as fierce in the North American and Asian markets. The oversupply situation in China has worsened... Read More
Short Range Outlook – July 2012
The bottom of the recent market trend Supply has continued to exceed demand in the long steel products market during the past month. However, some steel mills have already reacted and others are also expected to take necessary actions so that we will see an improved balance between supply and demand towards the end of the year. In fact, with less material now being sold, demand has started to build up. During the past month or so, price competition... Read More
Short Range Outlook – June 2012
The uncertainty in the market is expected to continue for a while The business scenarios in the global marketplace vary from one region to another depending on the economic situation in the different regions. The long products market has been performing relatively better than the flat rolled market mainly due to better balance of supply and demand. However, the increased uncertainty in the EU and very slow demand has created a lot of doubts not only... Read More
Short Range Outlook – May 2012
IREPAS: Market is generally stable in certain areas, dynamic in others At a global level demand is stable at healthy level except in Europe. There is still over supply versus apparent demand in the market but mills continue to keep a good discipline in terms of adapting supply to market conditions, also in the EU. The situation is expected to get better, as reduction in supply to meet the demand is seen in certain areas. There seems to be a balance... Read More