knofje schreef op 14 juli 2017 15:14:
Consumption and production of steel products in Germany will continue to increase as the country’s economy strengthens over the next two years, research institute RWI Essen said this week.
“The economic upturn in Germany is expected to continue this year and next year. The more vigorous investment activity is likely to lead to an increase in the demand for steel,” the researcher said on Thursday July 13.
Germany’s steel industry has experienced a positive year, with crude steel production rising by 1.70% year-on-year and average capacity utilisation at mills moving up to 86%, which the RWI considers “an exceptionally high value in international comparison”.
Crude steel output is expected to continue rising, with RWI predicting that production will rise by 1.50% year-on-year to 42.7 million tonnes in 2017. In 2018, output is forecast to rise again to 43.1 million tonnes.
Despite the increased demand, imports will rise by a larger margin than exports over the coming years, according to RWI.
“Since the capacities of the German steel industry are already well-utilised, imports of rolled steel are expected to accelerate,” RWI said.
“Steel exports are also expected to rise, although they are probably [going to be] slower than imports,” it added.
RWI’s report echoes predictions made by EU steel association Eurofer in May that rising steel demand in the region will mostly be satisfied by a growing volume of imports.
Protectionist trade policies used more widely across the world will reduce EU steel exports over the coming years, German steel federation WV Stahl said in February.
European domestic prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) have been under pressure from cheaper imported alternatives this year, despite the European Commission opening an investigation into shipments of the material from five countries including Russia.