It’s better to run badly than to sit well. Russian and global sheet products market: April 2–16

Russian metallurgical plants raised factory prices for hot-rolled sheet and coil in April, with plans to increase prices across the entire sheet products sector by 2,000–4,000 rubles per ton in May. Their key strength lies in limited supply volumes. In the second quarter, scheduled maintenance is planned at all major enterprises, including Kazakhstan’s Qarmet. Additionally, domestic producers are banking on export shipments. In turn, metal trading companies and pipe mills are also forced to ...
16 April 2025., 14:30   comment

Consumer сonfusion. Russian market of long products: March 31 – April 14

An unexpected return of winter in European Russia slightly chilled the rebar market, but overall conditions remain acceptable. Demand is weak yet relatively stable, without significant drops. Amid the economic downturn, the construction sector is holding up better than many other industries. However, the lack of substantial oversupply is also crucial. This allows metal trading companies to gradually raise prices, though average quotations in Moscow still lag slightly behind the primary market. ...
15 April 2025., 10:56   comment

Consumer сonfusion. Russian market of long products: March 31 – April 14

An unexpected return of winter in European Russia slightly chilled the rebar market, but overall conditions remain acceptable. Demand is weak yet relatively stable, without significant drops. Amid the economic downturn, the construction sector is holding up better than many other industries. However, the lack of substantial oversupply is also crucial. This allows metal trading companies to gradually raise prices, though average quotations in Moscow still lag slightly behind the primary market. ...
15 April 2025., 10:56   comment

Winter in April chilled the market, but not for long

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the MSS-TM Index (Market Temperature Index). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. The sharp cold snap and snowfalls in the first week of April had a noticeable impact on the Russian steel market. Several experts noted a decline in sales and a narrowing of consumer demand compared to late March. Despite this downturn, rebar remained in positive territory. The deterioration in market conditions, ...
15 April 2025., 09:59   comment

Gold futures surge above $3,200 for the tirst time since April 2

The price of gold futures for June 2025 delivery on Comex (a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange) has risen above $3,200 per troy ounce, according to exchange data. At 01:33 Moscow time, the precious metal was trading at $3,209.7 per troy ounce (+2.17%). By 01:48 Moscow time, gold accelerated its gains, reaching $3,212 per ounce (+2.24%). Gold futures previously hit a historic high on April 2, surpassing the $3,200 mark. At 23:29 Moscow time that day, the price rose 1.12% to $3,201.6 ...
14 April 2025., 11:31   comment

Steel prices attempt to catch up with rising costs

The analytical service of “Metal Supply and Sales” Magazine continues publishing the MSS-TM Index (Market Temperature Index). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. In early April, nearly all experts noted rising prices for steel products. While the situation in the hot-rolled steel sector had previously been characterized negatively, the survey results for the past week indicate stabilization, with a forecast of slow price growth for this product going forward. In two ...
04 August 2025., 09:36   comment

Steel prices attempt to catch up with rising costs

The analytical service of Sales magazine “Metal Supply and Sales” continues its publication of the MCC-TP Index (Market Temperature Index). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. In early April, nearly all experts noted rising prices for steel products. While the situation in the hot-rolled steel sector had previously been characterized negatively, the survey results for the past week indicate stabilization, with a forecast of slow price growth for this product going forward. ...
04 July 2025., 15:35   comment

Such is life. The Russian and Global Market for long products: March 24–31

Prices for rebar on the Russian market rose slightly in late March, reaching their highest level since November of last year. Some steelmakers raised their April quotes for this product, while others kept them unchanged, but the upward trend in primary market prices is clear and will likely continue in the near future. As a result, traders have little choice, especially since spot prices in most regions lag behind factory prices. Although the construction industry remains broadly unfavorable ...
04 January 2025., 11:12   comment

Such is life. The Russian and Global Market for long products: March 24–31

Prices for rebar on the Russian market rose slightly in late March, reaching their highest level since November of last year. Some steelmakers raised their April quotes for this product, while others kept them unchanged, but the upward trend in primary market prices is clear and will likely continue in the near future. As a result, traders have little choice, especially since spot prices in most regions lag behind factory prices. Although the construction industry remains broadly unfavorable ...
04 January 2025., 11:12   comment

A seasonal effect becomes noticeable

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the MSS-TM Index (Temperature of the market). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. According to expert feedback, the Russian steel market has remained in growth territory for the third consecutive week. However, a gap persists between rebar and medium-sized profile pipes on one side and hot-rolled steel products on the other. Demand for steel construction products has recently improved, whereas ...
04 January 2025., 10:37   comment

A seasonal effect becomes noticeable

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the MCC-TM Index (Temperature of the market). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. According to expert feedback, the Russian steel market has remained in growth territory for the third consecutive week. However, a gap persists between rebar and medium-sized profile pipes on one side and hot-rolled steel products on the other. Demand for steel construction products has recently improved, whereas ...
04 January 2025., 10:37   comment

Russia has increased supplies of copper, nickel, and aluminum to China

According to Chinese customs data, the first two months of 2025 saw a significant rise in imports of certain non-ferrous metals from Russia to China, reports “Kommersant”. Purchases of copper and copper products surged nearly 1.5 times, reaching $711.77 million. Nickel imports grew 2.8-fold to $233.38 million, while aluminum imports rose by 29.5% to $895.95 million. Based on London Metal Exchange (LME) prices, the supply volumes are estimated at approximately 72,000 tons, 14,500 tons, and 340,000 ...
27 March 2025., 11:05   comment

Playing on the minimum: Russian long steel market, March 17–24

The Russian rebar market has entered a state of stagnation. Both metallurgical companies and distributors would like to raise prices for this product, but there are no objective grounds for doing so. While demand for rebar exists, with some companies even reporting an uptick in the second half of March (albeit from a very low base), the construction sector, broadly speaking, has not shown signs of a spring revival. Another significant challenge for metallurgical companies is the strengthening ...
27 March 2025., 10:00   comment

Lagging hot-rolled products

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the MSS-TM Index (Market Temperature Index). The index value is determined through weekly expert surveys. Experts noted that in mid-March, sales of rebar and medium-sized profile pipes were at a decent level. However, while sales remain significantly below figures from a year ago, the overall trend is positive. The only sector showing no progress is hot-rolled steel, which continues to decline in price. Sales expectations ...
25 March 2025., 10:26   comment

Everything is expensive, only prices are low. The Russian market for sheet metal and welded pipes: March 13–20

The problem of non-payments is escalating on the Russian market. Even large state-owned companies are failing to meet their obligations. This is increasingly reducing business activity and negatively affecting the level of demand for steel products. On the spot market for hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, there are noticeable trends toward a slow decline. However, significant changes in monetary policy in the near future are unlikely, so the market situation is expected to remain unchanged. ...
20 March 2025., 10:54   comment

Everything is Expensive, Only Prices are Low. The Russian Market for Sheet Metal and Welded Pipes: March 13–20

The problem of non-payments is escalating in the Russian market. Even large state-owned companies are failing to meet their obligations. This is increasingly reducing business activity and negatively affecting the level of demand for steel products. On the spot market for hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, there are noticeable trends toward a slow decline. However, significant changes in monetary policy in the near future are unlikely, so the market situation is expected to remain unchanged. ...
20 March 2025., 10:27   comment

Minus thirty degrees in the Russian market of long products: 10th-17th of March

Meteorologists are predicting a rise in temperature but the market of rolled metal products for building purpose, quite opposite, is frozen. Some metal trading companies forecasting a decrease of demand for the rebar decrease of an apparent demand on 30 percents, compared to last year’s figures. Players on the market inform that the sales on January-February period were better than they were in March. At the same time, strangely enough, the spring revival is present, deals are done, just rarely ...
19 March 2025., 09:36   comment

The market has shifted towards the growth

Analytical service of "Metal Supply and Sales " Magazine continues publishing the MSS-TM index (Market Temperature). The value of index is defined by expert surveys on weekly basis. According to the expert assessments, The Russian steel market has undergone a qualitative change. For the first time since June last year, the total index exceeded 50 points, which separates the observed growth from the decline. A week ago, this level exceeded the expected index, which continued to rise. However, ...
18 March 2025., 12:08   comment