The 1526th issue of the bulletin "Branches of the Russian economy: production, finance, securities. Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metallurgy" of the AK&M News Agency.
In April 2023, global steel production declined slightly, while almost returning to last year's level. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), 161.4 million tons of steel were smelted during this period, which is 2.4% lower than the total of both April 2022 and March 2023. In total, in the first four months of 2023, 622.7 million tons of steel were smelted in the world — 0.3% less than in the same period of 2022. Moreover, 57% of the total volume was accounted for by China — the share of this country in global smelting has increased again. It is also worth noting that 54 countries that are not among the top ten steel producers occupy only 13% of the world's smelting.
In January-April, Russia reduced steel production by 0.6% to 25.1 million tons compared to a year earlier, retaining fifth place among metal–producing countries (according to WSA). In the USA during this period, steel production decreased by 4.1% to 26.1 million tons, in Japan — by 5.3% to 28.9 million tons, in South Korea — by 0.4% to 22.4 million tons, in Germany — by 5.9% to 12.4 million tons. At the same time, China increased metal production by 4.1% to 354.4 million tons, India — by 3% to 43.9 million tons. In April, 6.4 million tons of steel were smelted in Russia — by 1.9% more than a year earlier.
In the coming months, we should expect further subsidence in smelting, partly due to the fact that the flagship of steel consumption — China — is on the next round of decline. According to Mysteel, only a third of the country's factories are currently operating profitably, and shares of global mining companies fell at the end of May as iron ore prices declined due to weak demand in China. Steel demand will not improve until September, when the weather will become more favorable for construction, and economic stimulus measures taken since the end of last year will affect the real estate market, the steel producer from Eastern China said. At the same time, we do not expect an increase in global rental prices until China introduces incentive measures, and this will continue to negatively affect global smelting.
World prices for most types of rolled products collapsed in April due to falling demand for steel in China and lower prices for iron ore raw materials. Thus, the average price of slabs fell by 10.6% to $646.2 per ton (as of May 5). Steel billet for this period fell by 6.1% to $630.9 per ton. Flat rental in April also fell in price. In particular, prices for hot—rolled rolled steel decreased by 7.6% to $757.5 per ton, and for cold-rolled steel - by 4.2% to $878.4 per ton.
The index of production in the extraction of metal ores in Russia in April 2023 increased by 0.5% compared to April 2022, and in January-April 2023 — decreased by 1.8%. The production of iron ore concentrate in April amounted to 7.9 million tons (-2.9%), and the output of lead concentrates increased by 17%. In April, Russia increased the production of raw or semi-processed gold, or in powder form, by 10.5% compared to April 2022, but compared to March 2023, it decreased by 27.1%. Gold production in January-April 2023 increased by 9.4% compared to a year earlier.
This and many other topics are covered in Bulletin No. 1526 of the monthly bulletin "Branches of the Russian Economy: Production, finance, securities. Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metallurgy" of the AK&M News Agency dated June 07, 2023.
