Global bulk steel alloys strategic planning outlook – Q2 2023

Recently, the key narrative for China has been its post-reopening recovery. So far, downstream consumption in key end-use sectors for steel has remained sluggish as construction and real estate have under-performed. Though there will be some improvement later in the year, a lacklustre H1 has already dented hopes of a decisive recovery. In western markets, major economies are set to perform better than initially feared. This will not provide any meaningful upside for bulk steel alloys as growth in metal intensive sectors remains sluggish. Longer term China's steel industry reform will have important implications across bulk alloy markets. Ongoing growth in China's stainless steel output will provide meaningful demand upside to chromium and ferrosilicon in particular. Conversely, a weaker outlook for Chinese construction steels will most severely undermine manganese demand.