International Steel Market Dynamic

Since late May, most big European mills have opened their third-quarter order books. Due to more than a month, the European steel price is weak running situation, and large traders and processing centers are taking the initiative to reduce inventory strategy, the market pessimistic sentiment. This week, European steel mills in the third quarter ordered sales light, part of the Nordic steel mills repeatedly cut forward delivery prices, July to August hot rolled coil delivery prices adjusted to 700 euros/ton, although the current Nordic hot coil spot price at 730-740 euros/ton, but downstream procurement cautious, steel mills forward delivery orders sales.

International Steel Price Chart (unit: USD/ton)
Item	Area	June 1st	Cycle ratios
Waste steel  (HMS1&2)	Turkey Import	373	+3
Steel slab  (3SP)	China Import	515	0
Hot rolled coils&sheets (SS400)	Southeast Asia import	520	-10
Hot rolled coils sheets (S235JR)	Made in EU	790	-30
Deformed steel bars (B500B)	Import from Hong Kong, China	595	0
Deformed steel bars (B500B)	Turkey Export	625	-5
Cold rolled sheets coils (SPCC）	Cis export	705	-10

Downstream steel sales in Europe rose in April from a year earlier for the ninth consecutive month. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said recently that new car registrations rose 16 percent to about 960,000 units. Despite the positive car sales data, the overall manufacturing picture in Europe is not good. The purchasing managers’ index for the European manufacturing sector fell 1.1 percentage points from the previous month to 47 percent in April, marking the ninth consecutive month that the index has remained below 50 percent. In terms of major countries, the purchasing managers’ indices for manufacturing in Germany, the UK, France, and Italy are all at low levels below 48 percent. In addition, Germany, the locomotive of the European economy, is in dire economic condition. Germany’s GDP shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest data released by the Federal Statistics Office, marking the second consecutive quarter of negative growth in the country, which qualifies as a technical recession. Therefore, in the economic outlook of the market environment, Europe’s third-quarter steel use is likely to remain at low levels, and steel production will be difficult to increase.

Chinese Steel FOB Price (Unit: USD/ton)
Type	Port	June 1st	Cycle ratios
Hot rolled sheet coil (SS400)	Tianjin Port	530	-8
Cold rolled sheet coil  (SPCC)	Tianjin Port	619	-5
HDP (DX51D)	Tianjin Port	707	-3
Moderately thick sheet (SS400B)	Tianjin Port	577	-8
Deformed steel bars (B500B)	Zhangjiagang	590	-3
H-steel (SS400)	Qingdao port	550	-10

Imports of Russian steel products into the European Union fell 58.7 percent in January-March from a year earlier

The EU imported 1.361 million tons of steel products from Russia in the January-March period, down 58.7% year on year; Imports amounted to 662.11 million euros, down 53.1 percent year-on-year. The semi-finished products, the largest proportion of imports of 839000 tons, fell 39% year on year; Imports amounted to 458.17 million euros, down 45.2 percent year-on-year. Belgium, a major importer of Russian semi-finished goods, imported 343,700 tons, down 32.5 percent year on year; Imports amounted to 179.28 million euros, down 39.4 percent year-on-year.

The slab imports fell sharply in April

Data from the US Department of Commerce showed that the total import volume of the slab in April 2023 was 222,900 tons, down 47.2% from March and 9.2% from April last year. Slab imports totaled US $167 million in April 2023, US $259 million in March, and US $174.7 million in April 2022.

Southeast Asia billet price decrease

In the past two days, the quotation of Southeast Asia billet has decreased significantly, while the export quotation of China billet is about $490 / ton FOB, rising slightly.

Some Southeast Asian resources are quoted at around $520-535 / mt CFR, which is still high for most buyers. Recently, Philippine buyers have a strong wait-and-see mood. The inquiry for local intermediate frequency furnace resources is about $460 / ton, and the inquiry for imported resources is about $480-490 / ton CFR. At present, resource prices in most regions are difficult to meet.

Japan’s steel exports edged down 0.7 percent in January-April from a year earlier

According to the Japan Iron and steel union (JISF) released by customs statistics, Japan’s exports of 2.67 million tons of steel products, in April fell 10.9%, fell 2.2% year on year; Exports in the January-April period were 10.76 million tons, down 0.7 percent year-on-year. 1 – April, Japan’s iron and steel main export destination for South Korean (2.07 million tons) and China (919500 tons), with year-on-year growth of 11.0% and a 38.2% drop in respectively.

Chinese Steel FOB Price (Unit: USD/ton)
Item	Material	Specification	Price	Ups and downs	Port	Date
Deformed steel bars	B500B	20mm	575	-5	Zhangjiagang	June 2
Middle thick sheet	SS400	6-8mm	594	0	Bayuquan Area	June 2
Hot rolled coil	SS400	14-20mm	548	+5	Tianjin	June 2
Cold rolled coil	SPCC	1.0*1250*C	615	0	Tianjin	June 2
Galvanized	DX51D+Z	1.0*1250*C	706	0	Tianjin	June 2
H-steel	SS400	200*200	521	0	Bayuquan Area	June 2