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 : September 2019
Global long steel market currently depressed amid more difficult circumstances The global long steel products market is depressed at the moment as circumstances are becoming more difficult. It has become a buyer’s market and is difficult to secure orders at reasonable prices. The problem lies more on the demand side rather than with supply, and, therefore, it might take longer for a balance to be reached. Steel prices decline amid sharp drops in... 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
Short Range Outlook : June 2019
Uncertainty in global long steel products market increases dramatically The uncertainty in the global long steel products market has increased dramatically. Nowadays, the most stable region is China, where steelmakers have been increasing their weekly production volumes, whereas the rest of the world is just trying to hang on. Ferrous scrap and iron ore price trends decouple completely Ferrous scrap and iron ore price trends have completely decoupled. Iron... Read More
Short Range Outlook : March 2019
Positive mood prevails in global long steel products market despite virus of protectionism The global long steel products market is currently in a positive mood amid good demand worldwide. Had there not been protectionist actions like additional tariffs, quotas or safeguard measures, the global business scenario would be much better. Protectionism is like a virus, expanding and hurting the international trade environment as we knew it. Canada and... 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
Short Range Outlook : January 2019
Is globalization of the world’s long steel products market now at an end? The global long steel products market is heading towards a more complicated and difficult period as the globalization of the steel business is being rewound amid a clash between liberal and protectionist trade policies that are somehow tied to political ups and downs between world leaders. It seems that global business will be relatively quiet as long as protective measures... Read More
Short Range Outlook : December 2018
Global long steel market facing many unknowns amid protectionism and price corrections There is huge uncertainty in the global long steel products market as there are a lot of unknowns against the backdrop of protectionist measures and price corrections. US-China ceasefire may reduce volatility in international market The trade dispute between the US and China has been kicked down the road for another 90 days. The ceasefire in the trade war between... Read More
Short Range Outlook : November 2018
Global long steel industry in better position now despite tariffs and other issues The global long steel products market has been off balance recently, and the general situation has gotten marginally worse. One of the leading indicators of the worsening in the market is that the current Turkish spread between import scrap and rebar prices is now the lowest value observed since August 2017. The number shows a downward movement of $55/mt from the peak... Read More