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Steel price forecast 2016
Do you want to know how to say ‘Cool’ in Chinese? Than you can read the info about the steel prices 2017, as they are really cool! The demand for steel in China and bulk steel prices by the end of 2017 will grow by 4 percent. According to the China Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association, steel consumption in the country this year will grow stronger than expected.
According to the official data from the experts’ association (CISA), in comparison with China steel prices today, apparent demand for steel in this country will grow by 3-4% by the end of 2017, which is almost two times higher than expected in the association at the beginning of the year.
“The consumption of steel products in 2017 is expected to grow by 3-4%,” said the Vice President Wang Liqing at an industry conference.
The main driver of steel demand in 2017 was infrastructure projects in China, which provided steel companies with a record level of margins.
China growth forecast
Despite Beijing’s efforts to reduce overcapacity in the bloated steel industry, steel manufacturing in the country is projected to increase to 840 million tons this year from 808 million tons in 2016, CISA reported.
Since the beginning of this week, the Chinese authorities have begun to stop metallurgical production in regions with the most difficult environmental conditions. On Monday, the authorities stopped the production of steel in Tangshan, and on Tuesday, the authorities of the city of Handan, the second largest smelting settlement of the People’s Republic of China, reported a 50 percent reduction in the blast furnace production. The same decision was made in the city of Zhengzhou.
A significant reduction in steel production, which began earlier than planned, is likely to lead to an increase in the shortage of finished metal and will put pressure on the prices of imported iron ore, which may fall in price below $50 per ton.
Situation in the world
The growth rate of global steel demand may slow to 1.6% next year after the spike in 2017 caused by the situation in China, as the largest consumer. This is stated in the review of the World Steel Manufacturers Association.
According to the organization’s estimates, the demand in 2018 will grow to 1.648 billion tons, after 1.622 billion tons in this. An estimate for 2017 suggests a nominal growth of 7% and a real growth of 2.8%, reports Reuters.