Low demand was a problem, now it is becoming a curse for the Russian sheet steel market. Consumer activity has completely died down. In turn, distributors are reducing purchases of steel products from plants. Metallurgical plants, of course, are reducing output and/or exporting more rolled products, but the volumes of warehouse stocks at trading houses and independent metal traders, at a minimum, are not decreasing. Some metallurgical companies have not abandoned the idea of raising factory ...

The Russian market of steel products for construction purposes is increasingly approaching the state when "there is no money, but you hold on." First of all, the solvent demand for housing is declining, and distributors are losing not only the opportunity, but also the desire to launch new projects. Forecasts for the consumption of rolled products this year are becoming increasingly pessimistic. So far, the summer weather has generally supported suppliers of steel products, but the trends are ...

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the “MSS-TM index” (Market Temperature). The value of this index is determined through expert surveys on a weekly basis. The previous week was shortened due to holidays, but sales during these days went well. First of all, it was related to rebar, but also in the problematic sector of hot-rolled products there were shifts for the better. Consumer demand was also quite active. In particular, most experts do not see ...

The Russian market of flat rolled products continues to shrink. Distributors and producers of welded pipes are reducing purchases of hot-rolled sheet and coil due to the continuing narrowing of demand. And no matter how hard metallurgical companies try, surplus products are gradually accumulating in warehouses. This problem is not too acute yet, but in case of further decline in consumption it may become actualized. Despite all these negative trends, prices for steel products are still relatively ...

The analytical service of “Metal Supply & Sales” Magazine continues publishing the “MSS-TM index” (Market Temperature). The value of this index is determined through expert surveys on a weekly basis. The Russian market of steel products as a whole remains in the growth zone, but it is gradually cooling down, the reason for which is obviously a decrease in investment and economic activity. Sales and demand indicators so far show a decline only in the hot-rolled steel sector, but overall growth ...

May has come to an end, summer is coming soon. It would seem that we should build now and build! However, many suppliers of steel products for construction purposes point to low demand. Individual housing construction (IHB) shows positive dynamics, but without the construction of new apartment buildings neither steel companies nor steel traders will have enough orders. In general, not very typical trends are observed in the market. Prices for rebar and shaped rolled products, contrary to traditional ...

The Russian long products market spent the holiday break on the whole quite well. Visible demand on working days was at a high level, as many consumers purchased metal in stock. Weather deterioration was a bit of a problem in some regions, but it should soon return to normal. Prospects for the second half of this month are assessed differently by market participants, but the approaching summer gives hope for further expansion of consumption volumes. Nevertheless, there are also many risks for ...

At the end of April there were no significant events on the global or Russian steel market. The situation was determined by the previous trends, which consisted of weak demand for flat products, low level of business activity and relatively stable prices. Russian steel mills, in particular, announced an increase in quotations for May, but in June they will probably have to give up the continuation of growth. Visible consumption of all categories of flat products is noticeably lagging behind ...

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 ...

The weather this spring is simply “wonderful”! Then early warmth, then cold, then summer heat! Now we expect cold weather again. Nevertheless, seasonal growth in the construction industry has occurred. Although in absolute values it looks more modest than in the previous two years, the intensification of consumer demand allows metal trading companies to raise prices, trying to bring them to the level of primary market quotations or slightly higher. Metallurgical companies, for their part, maintain ...