Short Range Outlook : May 2020
Impact of Covid-19 starts to hit home across the global long steel market The supply and demand situation in the global long steel products market has deteriorated as global economies are doing much worse today thanks to protectionist measures and the Covid-19 pandemic. There is oversupply of almost everything, except those items that suddenly end up being in short supply due to impacts on the supply chain. This does not include ‘shortages’ that... Read More
Short Range Outlook : April 2020
Predictions for global longs market very difficult amid unprecedented virus impact It has become extremely difficult to predict the supply and demand situation in the global long steel products market. The impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on overall economic situations or conditions in countries and regions will be at different levels, which might change the dynamics of steel demand and production separately. Regionalization of markets... Read More
Vietnam extends safeguard duties on billet, rebar and wire rod
Vietnam’s industry and trade ministry has announced that the country’s safeguard duties on billet, rebar and wire rod imports have been extended until 2023. The duty rates will gradually decline within three years. After March 2023, the duties will be zero unless the ministry decides to extend them one more time. Until March 21, 2021, the duties will stand at 15.3 percent for billet and 9.4 percent for rebar and wire rod. In the second year, the... Read More
IREPAS in Belgrade: Longs market outlook unclear amid coronavirus threat
The 82nd meeting of IREPAS (the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Belgrade, Serbia on March 1-3, 2020 in conjunction with the SteelOrbis Spring ’20 Conference. Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak had a negative impact on our 82nd meeting in Belgrade. After the news about the coronavirus cases observed in Italy by late February, many participants due to attend the 82nd IREPAS meeting decided not to travel to... Read More
ABEF provides information on new import regulation in Algeria
Algeria’s Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) has provided information regarding the new import trade regulation, which is expected to come in force starting from January 1, 2020. According to the document, importers in Algeria should prioritize operations on FOB basis over CFR basis purchases and give preference to the local shipping companies, while previously it was stated that those were mandatory. Therefore, the importers... Read More
US not to pursue tariffs on Brazilian steel
Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro announced on social media following a conversation he had with Donald Trump that the US President has decided not to pursue tariffs on Brazilian steel. The US was threatening to reimpose the 25 percent safeguard duty on imports of Brazilian steel and the 10 percent tax on imports of ex-Brazil aluminium. No official document has yet been released by the US on the issue. Read More
Short Range Outlook : December 2019
Tight margins and cautious sentiment in global longs market despite output cuts at BFs There is still no clarity and no sign of economic recovery around the globe. Nevertheless, European and US production cuts at blast furnaces for extended periods have given much needed relief to the rest of the steel industry. The global long steel products market is picking up due to the production cuts, as anticipated. However, there may not be a considerable... Read More
Short Range Outlook : November 2019
Confusing environment prevails in global long steel products market The current environment in the global long steel products market is confusing. The raw material for blast furnaces is becoming cheaper, while ferrous scrap is getting more expensive and we observe increasing prices for both reinforcing bars and hot rolled coils. Customers are making inquiries for longer than they normally should, and mills are incurring greater losses than they can... Read More
IREPAS in Duesseldorf : Changing trade flows and market challenges discussed against backdrop of protectionism, trade conflicts and depressed conditions
The 81st meeting of IREPAS (the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Duesseldorf, Germany on September 22-24, 2019 in conjunction with the SteelOrbis Fall’19 Conference. There were 138 producer representatives among the 426 registered delegates from a total of 46 different countries. There were also 78 registrations representing 38 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference, Murat Cebecioglu,... Read More
Short Range Outlook : July 2019
Uncertainty still prevails in global longs market , while BOF production faces severe pressure The outlook for the global long steel products market differs for the scrap industry, the steel producing industry and for steel consumers. The market can be described as generally unstable as there is still a lot of uncertainty and even a tweet may turn a lot of things upside down. We are going through a tough period particularly for BOF-based producers,... Read More