Since April 15, the Black Sea steel billet market has been sluggish, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have been tense, and Turkey recently banned steel exports to Israel. Market participants remain concerned about related markets. Recent inquiries from Turkey and Egypt for Russian steel billets are almost at the same level, about US$500/ton FOB Black Sea. It is understood that Egyptian traders have booked 5,000 tons of 5SP 125×125 mm Russian billet. Some traders are cautiously optimistic about the market this week. A Turkish agent, referring to Turkish demand, said prices are expected to move higher this week. The...

U.S. Steel (X.US) shareholders voted on Friday to approve Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of the company, in line with market expectations. U.S. Steel said more than 98% of the votes cast were in favor of the deal. Friday’s vote is an important step in the process of completing the deal. However, the deal still faces huge regulatory pressure. U.S. Steel closed down 2.1% on Friday at $41.33, well below the $55 per share purchase price, reflecting uncertainty over whether the deal will win regulatory approval. However, the deal has drawn criticism from Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers as...

As Türkiye celebrates the holiday of Bayram and Ramadan comes to an end, the country’s rebar market is experiencing a quiet period. Despite the sluggish market activity, the Turkish Trade Ministry announced on April 9 an immediate ban on the export of a total of 54 commodities to Israel. The list of commodities included rebar, wire rods and aluminum profiles. The trade restrictions will remain in effect until Israel declares an immediate ceasefire in Gaza within the framework of its obligations under international law and allows adequate and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. Turkey is currently on the...

Quotations for imported billets from Italy have fallen recently due to sluggish demand and weak market fundamentals, particularly falling iron ore prices. Billet demand is weak in some parts of Asia, coupled with the past holiday in Italy, the market demand is insufficient. Some Asian billet suppliers have lowered their quotations for Italy, but the lower quotations did not bring new orders. An Indonesian supplier quoted a quotation of US$500/ton FOB equivalent to US$540-550/ton CFR, a week-on-week decrease of US$30-40/ton. The quotation of similar products from a steel mill in Vietnam is US$530/ton FOB, down US$5-10/ton on a week-on-week basis....

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 11 and ends with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on April 11.In the last few days of Ramadan, the traditional demand for steel in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia slowed down, and the import market is not expected to improve until mid-April. At present, Emirates Steel Company is still selling rebar orders for April at a price of US$745/ton EXW. The tradable price is at the level of US$680-700/ton EXW. Rebar quotations from re-rolling mills are hovering at US$635-655/ton.Buyers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also...

The Department of Raw Materials Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a working meeting on stabilizing growth and increasing efficiency of steel production enterprises, and planned to formulate relevant policies to better promote the stable development of the steel industry, which will provide a certain boost to market sentiment. In addition, the first symposium on large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in was held today, and more policies have been implemented to boost investment confidence in the steel market and expand the release of speculative demand, which is expected to boost the overall demand for steel....

 Last week, affected by the futures market, Asian hot coil prices continued to fall. The current price of SS400 (3mm) hot coils in Southeast Asia is US$520/ton CFR Southeast Asia, a week-on-week decrease of US$5/ton. However, compared with other varieties, the demand for SS400 hot coils Not high. Quotes for Q235/Q235B dropped by nearly US$15/ton within a week. The market generally reflected poor demand, mainly due to concerns about the potential for further declines in the market. Similarly, the price of Q195 (3mm) also dropped by about US$15/ton within a week to US$510/ton CFR Vietnam, and the actual transaction is...

How much steel will the world need by 2050? There are now 8 billion people on the earth and “consume” about 1.8 billion tons of steel every year. In other words, the per capita annual steel consumption is roughly 222 kilograms. However, this figure varies significantly across regions, with apparent steel consumption per capita ranging from 310 kilograms in Europe to around 30 kilograms in Africa. The United Nations predicts that the global population will be close to 10 billion in 2050. Based on the current apparent steel consumption per capita, approximately 2.2 billion tons of steel will need to...

This week, the latest quotation for slab from a mainstream steel plant in Indonesia is 540 USD/ton FOB, a decrease of 30 USD/ton from last week. At present, local demand in Indonesia is very sluggish, and there are relatively few slab transactions in the Southeast Asian region. Although the demand for Southeast Asian slabs in Europe has not significantly declined, inquiries from European buyers have decreased compared to before.Due to poor demand for sheet metal, Italian sheet metal prices have continued to weaken recently. Currently, the local market price for medium and thick sheet metal is about $808/ton EXW, while...

Against the backdrop of tight domestic quotas and rising raw material prices, Tokyo Steel announced on January 29 that it will raise the prices of some sheet materials by 2000 yen/ton (14 US dollars/ton) in February, marking the company’s first increase since July 2023. Although the pace of demand recovery in local automotive and other manufacturing industries remains uneven, with generally low freight volumes, due to long-term procurement restrictions by steel mills, their distribution inventory is at a low level, and some sheet products are in short supply.The company has not yet adjusted the prices of construction steel, citing a...