EU steel exports up by 11pct in Q1 2013 - EUROFER
Final trade data for Q1 2013 show EU steel exports to third countries rising 11% YoY. While finished steel products exports hardly increased compared with the same period of last year, semis exports rose significantly.
Available data and first estimates for Q2 signal a slight further rise in export volumes, but a sharp moderation in the YoY growth.
4 months into the year, the EU runs a small trade surplus of 381,000 tonnes per month. This is the result of a continued surplus in long products of 725,000 tonnes per month, whereas the EU remained a net importer of semis to the amount of 330,000 tonnes per month.
For flat products the EU runs a slight trade deficit of 14,000 tonnes per month compared with a trade surplus in 2012.
As flat product exports remained close to the levels registered last year, this basically reflects the marked rise in imports registered so far this year.
Rebar exports continued to dominate the trade deficit in long products, accounting for roughly 50% of the total tonnage involved.
As in the recent past, Algeria remained the most important outlet for EU exports, not only for rebar but also for merchant bar and wire rod. Other main countries of destination are Switzerland, Morocco and Turkey.
In Q2 H2 of 2013, exports are expected to remain at a level which will be relatively close the H1 2013 tonnage; this implies a modest reduction compared with H2 2012 volumes. On balance, this will result in a rise of approximately 2% in total exports over the whole of 2013.
In 2014, total exports are expected to increase moderately, reflecting an expected rebound in global steel demand.
However, the export performance of EU producers will strongly depend on the strength of the Euro versus other currencies, the global steel supply- demand balance and other countries exporting their overcapacity problems
Source - Strategic Research Institute