The 1676th issue of the bulletin "Branches of the Russian Economy: Manufacturing, Finance, Securities. Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy" of the AK&M News Agency.
In April 2026, global steel production began to decline again. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), 153.4 million tons of steel were smelted during the period, which is 1.9% lower than the same indicator in 2025, and 4.1% lower than the total of the previous month. The average daily smelting amounted to 5.113 million tons in April, which is 0.9% lower than in March. At the same time, China's share in the total smelting volume remained at 54%.
In January-April 2026, Russia reduced steel production by 12% compared to a year earlier, to 20.6 million tons, dropping to sixth place among metal—producing countries (according to the WSA). China reduced steel production by 4.1% to 331.1 million tons. In Japan, steel production decreased by 1.2% to 26.7 million tons. At the same time, India increased steel production by 9.4% to 58.7 million tons, Turkey — by 6.3% to 13 million tons, and Vietnam — by 8.4% to 8.5 million tons. In the USA, steel production increased by 6.6% to 28.1 million tons during this period. In South Korea, smelting increased by 2.5% to 21 million tons. Germany also increased smelting, by 9.1% to 12.5 million tons. According to the WSA, 5 million tons of steel were smelted in Russia in April, which is 12.4% less than a year earlier.
The index of production in the extraction of metal ores in Russia in April 2026 increased by 6% compared to April 2025, and by 2.5% for the entire first quarter. The production of iron ore concentrate in April amounted to 7.6 million tons (-6.6%). The production of lead concentrates decreased by 7.2% in April, while gold-bearing concentrates increased by 4.8%. Gold production in April decreased by 0.1% compared to the same period in 2025. In April 2026, Russia reduced silver production by 35.9% compared to April last year.
The index of metallurgical production in Russia in April 2026 decreased by 9.2% compared to April 2025, and by 8.7% compared to the previous month. According to Rosstat, 5.2 million tons of steel of all types were smelted in Russia in April 2026, which is 8.8% less than the result of April 2025. Pig iron production in April 2026 decreased by 8.7% compared to the same month in 2025, and the output of rolled ferrous metals decreased by 10.8%. Production of seamless pipes in April 2026 amounted to 28.6 thousand tons (-38.8% compared to April 2025), casing pipes — 118 thousand tons (-18.2%), including tubing - 41.2 thousand tons (-1.5%).
The composite index of the Moscow ferrous metals market continues to grow. So, on May 7, 2026, the index index was 809.18, compared with 796.69 on April 1, 2026. In general, for the whole of 2026, the index increased by 14.15 percentage points from 797.57 as of December 31, 2025. The average cost of a ton of hot—rolled sheet in the domestic market on June 8, 2026 was from 69,951 thousand rubles (+0.4% relative to the price of the previous month), and the average cost of a ton of cold-rolled sheet was 67,847 thousand rubles (-0.1%). As of June 8, a ton of A3 rebar cost an average of 58.739 thousand rubles (+1.1%).
The financial situation in mining in January-March 2026 turned out to be better than last year. The net financial result of enterprises engaged in the extraction of metal ores increased by 25.2% to RUB 370.9 billion compared to the same period in 2025. At the same time, the situation in metallurgy turned out to be much worse. Thus, the balance of metallurgical enterprises in the first three months of 2026 turned out to be negative and amounted to minus 115.7 billion rubles. The balance of enterprises producing finished metal products decreased by 41.6% to RUB 117.3 billion.
Read more about trends in metallurgy in issue No. 1676 of the monthly bulletin "Branches of the Russian Economy: Manufacturing, Finance, Securities. Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metallurgy" by the AK&M News Agency dated June 10, 2026.
