European steel market slows down or will continue until 2020 when steelmakers demand action

Release time：Jul 01, 2019 From：admin

Wolfgang Eder, chief executive of Voestalpine AG, a European steelmaker, said there was no sign of a turnaround in the European steel market in 2019 and that the slowdown could continue until 2020, Bloomberg reported.

European steelmakers are facing a severe test this year due to the sharp drop in automotive demand, rising iron ore prices and the impact of imported steel. In the past 12 months, Europe's top ten steelmakers have lost nearly $40 billion in market value.

Credit Suisse had predicted that the average price of iron ore would soar to $90 in the second quarter. This is because the global iron ore market may face a shortfall of 12 million tons in the second quarter of 2019, and Vale is difficult to compensate for the loss of production caused by the dam break. Second, China's steel production reached a record high in the first quarter of this year, with crude steel production reaching 231 million tons, an increase of 9.92% year on year.

Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steelmaker, announced in May that it would cut steel production at its factories in Europe in response to weak demand and increased imports. However, no specific production reduction plan has yet been disclosed.

British Steel, Britain's second largest steelmaker, was liquidated and bankruptcy proceedings started.

So this week, a joint open letter from 45 European steel industry executives said that the EU must limit low-cost imports to provide the steel industry with the current crisis.

Eder said trade tensions between China and the United States would limit global economic growth and further affect the steel industry.

The European Union of Iron and Steel Industries (Eurofer) expects a slight decline in steel demand in Europe in 2019 and a 1.3% growth in 2020. (Source: Shanghai Nonferrous Network)