The increase in steel exports from Russia and Ukraine has led to an oversupply in the international market, which has long struggled with the abundance of Chinese exports. Producers in Asia and Europe are facing challenges due to increased imports of cheap steel from Ukraine and Russia along with China.
Steel demand is still strong, but steel prices are already at their weakest in the past five years. They are likely to decline further as cheap steel imports from Russia, Ukraine and China rise in the near to medium term. According to CRU estimates, steel exports from Ukraine and Russia during the past year amounted to 46.4 million tons. This is almost half of China's steel exports during the year. Chinese steel exports during 2014 amounted to 93.78 million tons.
World Steel Association statistics show that total crude steel production in Russia rose 6.0 percent to 6.130 million tonnes in January 2015, up from 5.781 million tonnes in January 2014. However, overall steel output in Ukraine fell sharply by 22.2 percent to 1.874 million tonnes in January this year, compared with 2.506 million tonnes in January 2014.
Still, experts fear that growing steel exports from Ukraine and Russia could negatively affect world steel prices. Steel companies in Europe have also expressed concern about the situation in the steel market.
Steel exports from Ukraine and Russia cause concern in the global market
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Azovpromstal® 2 March 2015 г. 16:15 |
