The return of the cold weather. Russian and world market of long products: April 18-25

Before the pause in the first half of May, the Russian market of rolled products for construction purposes was in a “frozen” state. The demand for rebar in some regions was characterized as weak, and the level of spot prices in the end of the month was slightly lower there. In other places more active consumption allowed metal traders to stabilize quotations. However, even that weak growth, which was observed throughout most of April, came to naught.

The Central Bank's decision to keep the key rate unchanged showed that there is little hope for changes for the better in the foreseeable future. The construction industry does not look so bad against the background of other sectors of the economy, but demand there continues to slowly degrade. Metallurgical companies, previously hoping for an increase in selling prices in May, have given up on it. And some suppliers even slightly reduced them.

Undoubtedly, one of the negative factors for the Russian long products market was further deterioration of the external environment. Dollar quotations for domestic billets in Turkey and East Asian countries are declining under the impact of the unstable situation in the global economy. The tariff war unleashed by the USA and excessive production and export of steel products in China put pressure on the cost of steel products.

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