Short Range Outlook : June 2020
Global longs export markets shrink further amid protectionism, Russians dominate As expected, things are getting more difficult for exporters in the global steel market. The EU opened fire with an antidumping investigation on HRC imports from Turkey, with Turkey firing back with duties on steel products from the EU. Canada started a similar investigation against imports of heavy plates from several countries, while Egypt has been working on a 10 percent... Read More
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
China raises export tax rebates to 13%
China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on March 17 that steel’s export tax rebates for more than 1,000 items, will be increased to 13 percent as of March 20, while it is at 9-10 percent for many products at the moment. The increases in export tax rebates of those steel products will lower the export costs and increase exporters competitiveness, which will exert a positive impact on the Chinese steel industry in the future. The effect will... 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
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 signs phase one trade deal with China
The White House has announced that the US has signed the phase one trade agreement with China. As a part of the new agreement, China has pledged to increase imports of American goods and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years, and the trajectory is expected to continue even after 2021. China has also agreed to purchase between $40 and $50 billion in American agricultural goods each year for two years., According to the agreement,... Read More
Short Range Outlook : January 2020
Global longs market appears in better shape, with sentiment also improving The global long steel products market is surely in a better shape today although we have yet to emerge from a slow-activity period due to the holidays in Europe and around the globe. However, real sentiment in the market is pretty positive, especially after the announcement that a trade deal between the US and China will be signed. That said, we have to keep in mind the possibility... 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
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