Short Range Outlook : February 2023
Unpredictability persists in global longs market, recession fears may have been exaggerated The global long steel products market is still characterized by unpredictability. China’s impact on the global markets is still an open question and this contributes to the unpredictability for the second quarter. It seems that customers heard too much talk of recession last year and were convinced that all construction would stop in 2023. Actually, it looks... Read More
Short Range Outlook : November 2022
Demand at crisis levels in global longs market, unlikely to improve in coming months Demand in the global long steel products market is either very low or there is no demand at all, depending on the region. Overall demand is less than real supply and possible supply increases. The demand for ferrous materials has also slowed down considerably as industrial outlooks have lost visibility. Energy cost uncertainty and the destruction of demand have led... Read More
IREPAS in Monaco: The current crisis is a once-in-a-generation event
The 87th meeting of IREPAS (the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Monaco, on October 9-11, 2022, in conjunction with the SteelOrbis Fall ’22 Conference. There were 108 producer representatives from 40 different companies among the 407 registered delegates from a total of 48 different countries. There were also 69 registrations representing 43 different raw material suppliers. At the opening of the conference, Murat... Read More
Short Range Outlook : April 2022
War in Ukraine a major gamechanger for global longs market The war in Ukraine has changed sentiment in the global long steel products market as well as fundamentally altering the flow of raw materials and finished products almost overnight. There is more demand than secure supply in the market. Before the war, the expectations were that demand would determine the direction of prices, contrary to 2021 when supply was the driving factor. Today, however,... Read More
Short Range Outlook : February 2022
Global longs market boosted by improving demand and many positive factors Demand is picking up in the global long steel products market after the holidays and it will be even better once the weather becomes warmer in the northern hemisphere. It seems the market is getting back to normal. Section 232 is practically over. General demand is strengthening with the pandemic possibly coming to an end. Bottlenecks seem to be easing somewhat, such as breakbulk... Read More