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
Short Range Outlook : February 2020
Surplus supply and inadequate demand in global longs market There is still a surplus of supply and not enough demand in the global long steel products market. The profitability and margins of steel producers vary greatly between regions amid several factors such as the coronavirus outbreak and/or geopolitical issues like recent announcements relating to Israel/Palestine and Libya creating uncertainties for the future. Full impact of coronavirus in... 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
The US has reinstated tariffs on all steel imports from Brazil and Argentina
The US has reinstated tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina with immediate effect, on currency issues, US President Donald Trump tweeted earlier today. The Trump administration imposed a blanket 25% tariff on all steel imports, and of 10% on all aluminum imports, in March 2018 under Section 232 legislation,. Later in June 2018, the restrictions on Brazil and Argentinian steel and aluminum were converted to a quota system.... 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
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
IREPAS in Barcelona : Protectionism, raw materials and Turkey top the agenda
The 80th meeting of IREPAS (International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Barcelona, Spain on April 7-9, 2019. There were 132 producer representatives among the 416 registered delegates from a total of 48 different countries. There were also 70 registrations representing 40 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference Murat Cebecioglu, chairman of IREPAS, said that IREPAS firmly believes in, has supported... Read More
Brazil notified WTO it will retaliate against EU following steel quotas
Brazil has officially notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) it will suspend export benefits for the European Union (EU). The notice follows an EU decision to impose a steel tariff quota for exceeding exports of certain steel products from several countries, including Brazil. Brazil told the WTO it intends to suspend export benefits for the EU for 30 days, although the affected European products were not specified. According to the Brazilian... Read More
Short Range Outlook : February 2019
Price levels improve in global long steel products market despite uncertainties Prices in the global long steel products market are better compared to our last report, though there is a certain degree of uncertainty regarding how sustainable the current price levels are. The situation has gotten worse generally in terms of demand and supply, as there seems to be a general worsening of expectations and the numbers coming in do not bode well. Brazilian... Read More