Commodity Market Report

Steel short-term outlook February 2022

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The Russia-Ukraine conflict will disrupt global steel trade flows especially in the EU. There is a potential upside risk to scrap prices as Russia is a key exporter to many Western economies. The economic sanctions on Russia will worsen the situation further. As expected, the Chinese steel production stayed under pressure in the first two months. However, the pain is likely to ease going ahead. Demand will be supported by strong construction activity. Steel production will gain momentum with easing output curbs, completion of planned maintenance of key blast furnaces and softening raw material and energy prices. Our February short-term outlook covers: • Demand outlook for 2022 and status of leading end use consumption activity • Supply side nuances including risks and opportunities • Trade flows, new deals and its implications • Decarbonisation efforts and policies • Steel price outlook and cost implications

Table of contents

    • Sluggish demand in February due to weak construction demand
    • Daily hot metal production remained low at just 2 Mt during the month
    • What to expect in the coming months
    • US-Japan steel trade: new terms, negligible effects
    • Will Biden ‘go-green’ agenda become the new Section 232?
    • European steelmakers continue to chase higher prices to pass on high input costs
    • Sustained construction activity in Europe and cost inflation contributed to rebar price hike
    • Automotive sector to improve in 2022 but headwinds will persist
    • Crude steel production in Europe bounced back in 2021, the growth will slow down in 2022
    • Revival in steel production growth
    • Domestic demand languishing
    • but steel exports bracing up
    • What is the demand outlook for the rest of 2022?
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • Iron Ore
    • Coal
    • Scrap
    • Green steel initiatives

Tables and charts

This report includes 16 images and tables including:

  • Steel demand outlook
  • Crude steel production outlook
  • Macro outlook performance
  • HRC and rebar consumption (Mt)
  • HRC and rebar production (Mt)
  • Utilisation rates (%)
  • Daily hot metal production (Mt)
  • US imports by location
  • US imports from Japan
  • EU Passenger car registrations
  • EU-27+ UK crude steel production
  • Crude steel production and steel exports
  • Automotive sales
  • End-Use Indicators

What's included

This report contains:

  • Document

    Steel short-term outlook February 2022

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