Swedish crude steel output up 24 percent in Sept over Aug

Wed,19 October,2011

According to the latest data released by Swedish Steel Producers' Association (Jernkontoret), in September this year Swedish crude steel production amounted to 382,400 metric tons, decreasing by 13.2 percent year on year but up 24.1 percent as compared to August this year.

Meanwhile, in the first nine months of the current year Swedish crude steel production amounted to 3,750,600 mt, with an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

Jernkontoret indicates that in Sweden at present around 60 percent of the total production comprises alloyed steel which also includes stainless steels. In the rest of the EU, as well as in the USA and Japan, alloy steels only comprise 10-15 percent of steel production.

Jernkontoret also noted that, per capita steel consumption in Sweden is close to 500 kg, which is relatively high in international terms. The average for EU-27 countries is around 390 kg per capita according to World Steel Association data for 2008.

Tags: raw mat, Sweden , Europe , production , European Union
(sourced steelorbis)

New pricing system for iron ore

By Alex MacDonald, The Australian
October 15, 2011 12:00AM

BHP Billiton plans to create a new, more transparent iron ore pricing system called Global Oreby the end of the year or early next year.

The chief executive of the company's ferrous and coal division, Marcus Randolph, told an audience at the World Steel Association in Paris that he was working with members to develop a pricing system that would allow iron ore prices to be quoted on a screen to provide the market with a more transparent price than index providers such as Platts.

"We have to have that in order to have a viable derivatives market," Mr Randolph said.

"As you try to create a financial market, a derivative market, you actually must have 100 per cent verification of what is the price right now. Global Ore is not based on a reported price; it's visible to people" on a screen real-time, he said.

Global Ore will be modelled on Global Coal, another trading platform BHP has helped set up where consumers and producers offer prices on a website in order to buy and sell thermal coal. Global Ore would be based on a similar ownership model to Global Coal, where both consumers and producers own the trading platform.

Financial institutions would also be able to participate, Mr Randolph said, but he wasn't clear whether that would be as a user or owner or both.

The Global Ore platform initially would allow consumers and producers to trade iron ore fines.

The derivatives market has grown since the world's three largest iron ore miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale, abandoned the annual price benchmarking system in 2009 for shorter term price contracts.

The contracts were set up on a quarterly system, but "most people are finding quarterly is an inconvenient period", Mr Randolph said. As a result, more contracts were now being priced on a monthly basis.

BHP sold more than 50 per cent of its iron ore on a monthly basis and an even higher proportion of its coking coal on a monthly basis, Mr Randolph said.

Only 15 per cent of world iron ore sales and 4 per cent of coking coal sales were done on price contracts longer than a quarter, he said. "The intent of a monthly price is not to negotiate. It's actually to fix the price where the market is. We are not where we have a transparent market, but we certainly have a low volatility market."

Mr Randolph said the Chinese were more willing to engage in short-term price negotiations than the Japanese, whose carmakers preferred annual steel contracts.

Simon Wandke, vice-president and chief commercial officer of Arcelor Mittal's mining unit, agreed with Mr Randolph that there was potential for a more liquid and transparent iron ore derivatives market, but he wasn't certain steelmakers would adopt such instruments given the low level of liquidity and the likelihood that they would cover only a portion of the grades and products in the iron ore market.

(sourced Dow Jones Newswires)

BHP Billiton: Raw material prices will come down in long run

Thursday, 13 October 2011

Mining giant BHP Billiton's chief executive ferrous and coal Marcus Randolph said at the 45th annual meeting of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) held in Paris on October 13, that steelmaking raw material prices, including prices of iron ore and coking coal, have increased significantly in the last 10 years since raw material demand has grown so fast that raw material producers have been unable to keep up.

Mr. Randolph stated that almost half of the seaborne iron ore trade is destined to China, while he predicted that the apparent steel consumption of China, which is currently a bit higher than 400 kg per capita will continue to rise for a while and then will begin to trend sideways at about 600 kg per capita. Thus, at some point the growth of China's iron ore demand is expected to slow down. According to Mr. Randolph's presentation, between 2010 and 2020 world iron ore demand will grow by four percent, while seaborne demand is expected to rise by five percent, as the seaborne trade is dominated by Chinese demand. As for coking coal, Mr. Randolph told attendees that, while China had been a net exporter of coking coal in the past, the country reached its coking coal production limit by 2008. As a result the growth in the seaborne coking coal trend differs from that for iron ore. Between 2010 and 2020, world coking coal demand is foreseen to rise by three percent, while seaborne demand is expected to increase by five percent in the same period.

In order to close the gap between demand and supply, Randolph said that huge investments are being implemented. Between 2010 and 2020, iron ore production in Australia is expected to increase by 15 percent, iron ore output is predicted to rise in Brazil by 12 percent, by 49 percent in West Africa and by three percent in India. However, supplies may still fall short even if all these projects are completed, the BHP Billiton official warned.

As for coking coal, between 2010 and 2020 coking coal output in Australia is expected to increase six percent, the output is predicted to grow by 15 percent in China, by 14 percent in Russia, five percent in Canada and 39 percent in South Africa.

Marcus Randolph defended the short-term pricing system, stating that the annual negotiations result in the buildup of large debts from the difference between the old price and the new price, and that deliveries get cancelled when spot prices are below the contract price or when low cost suppliers have been forced to cut production. Randolph said that market pricing mechanisms are now more transparent and the development of forward markets gives customers financial management tools.

Finally, Mr. Randolph told attendees that he expects iron ore prices to come down; however, the speed with which this happens, he said, will depend on project developments in Africa, Mongolia and Russia.

Tags: iron ore , coking coal , raw mat , Australia , China , Oceania , Far East , BHP , conferences , steelmaking , East Asia and Pacific
(sourced steelorbis)

Worldsteel cuts Indian steel demand grow in 2011 to 4.3pct from earlier 13.3pct

Thursday, 13 Oct 2011

World Steel Association in its Short Range Outlook for 2011 and 2012 said that India's steel consumption may grow by just 4.3% in 2011 to 67.7 million tonne.

Worldsteel said “In 2011, India’s steel use is forecast to grow by 4.3% to reach 67.7 million tonnes due to economic growth. In 2012, the growth rate is forecast to accelerate to 7.9%.”

On April 18th, worldsteel in Short Range Outlook for 2011 and 2012 had said “India is expected to show strong growth in steel use in the coming years due to its strong domestic economy, massive infrastructure needs and expansion of industrial production. In 2011, India’s steel use is forecast to grow by 13.3% to reach 68.7 million tonnes. In 2012, the growth rate is forecast to accelerate further to 14.3%.”

World crude steel output climbs 8.8% to 117 mmt in Feb

22 March 2011 at 10:45 IST

BRUSSELS (Commodity Online) : World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 117 million metric tons (mmt) in February 2011.

This is 8.8% higher than February 2010, according to a press release.

China’s crude steel production for February 2011 was 54.3 mmt, up 9.7% compared to February 2010. Japan produced 8.9 mmt of crude steel in February 2011, an increase of 5.7% compared to the same month last year. South Korea produced 5.0 mmt of crude steel in February 2011, 25.7% more than February 2010.

In the EU, Germany’s crude steel production for February 2011 was 3.7 mmt, an increase of 7.9% compared to February 2010. Italy’s crude steel production was 2.3 mmt, up 4.9% compared to the same month last year. Spain produced 1.4 mmt of crude steel in February 2011, an increase of 6.4% on February 2010.

Turkey’s crude steel production for February 2011 was 2.5 mmt, an increase of 35.5% compared to February 2010.

The US produced 6.6 mmt of crude steel in February 2011, 5.6% higher than February 2010.

Brazilian crude steel production in February 2011 was 2.7 mmt, an increase of 11.4% on February 2010.

The world crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the 64 countries in February 2011 was 82.0%, a slight increase from the updated figure of 80.9% for January 2011. Compared to February 2010, the utilisation ratio in February 2011 is 2.7 percentage points higher.
(sourced commodityonline)

WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Association, is comprised of seventeen major global steel producers from around the world

About WorldAutoSteel:

WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the World Steel Association, is comprised of seventeen major global steel producers from around the world.

Our mission is to advance and communicate steel’s unique ability to meet the automotive industry’s needs and challenges in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. We are committed to a low carbon future, the principles of which are embedded in our continuous research, manufacturing processes, and ultimately, in the advancement of automotive steel products, for the benefit of society and future generations.

Members

Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation - China
Arcelor Mittal - Luxembourg
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. - China
China Steel Corporation - Taiwan, China
Hyundai-Steel Company - South Korea
JFE Steel Corporation - Japan
Kobe Steel, Ltd. - Japan
Nippon Steel Corporation - Japan
Nucor Corporation - USA
POSCO - South Korea
SeverStal - Russia/USA
Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. - Japan
Tata Steel - India, UK, Netherlands
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG - Germany
USIMINAS - Brazil
United States Steel Corporation - USA
voestalpine Stahl GmbH - Austria

To learn more about WorldAutoSteel and its projects, visit www.worldautosteel.org

Tags:Usiminas, United States Steel Corp, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Severstal, Kobe steel, China Steel Corp, Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Anshan Iron and Steel Group

Global crude steel output in January totals 119 million tonnes

Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011

World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 119 million tonnes in January 2011, up by 5.3% YoY.

China's crude steel production for January 2011 was 52.8 million tonnes, up by 0.5% YoY. Japan produced 9.7 million tonnes of crude steel in January 2011, up by 10.7% YoY. South Korea showed an increase of 24.2% YoY, producing 5.6 million tonnes crude steel in January 2011.

In the EU, Germany's crude steel production for January 2011 was 3.7 million tonnes, up by 4.4% YoY. Italy's crude steel production was 2.1 million tonnes, up by 10.3% YoY. Spain produced 1.4 million tonnes of crude steel in January 2011, up by 4.1% YoY.

Turkey produced 2.7 million tonnes of crude steel in January 2011, up by 33.4% YoY.

The US produced 6.8 million tonnes of crude steel in January 2011, up by 9.4% YoY.

Brazilian crude steel production in January 2011 was 2.8 million tonnes, up by 3.8% YoY.

The world crude steel capacity utilization ratio of the 64 countries in January 2011 was 75.6%, an increase from 73.3% in December 2010. Compared to January 2010, the utilization ratio in January 2011 is 0.4 percentage point lower.

(Sourced from www.worldsteel.org)

Tags:Japan's crude steel production, EU, Germany, Spain steel, Brazilian, YoY, crude steel production in January 2011,

Global steel output rises to record

Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:06pm GMT
* Asia drives steel production growth
* Western economies lag behind Asia
* China share of global production falls
By Silvia Antonioli

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Global crude steel production touched a new record in 2010, driven by growth in emerging regions and improving manufacturing in the developed world, although the construction sector remained gloomy.
Global production rose 15 percent to 1.414 billion tonnes in 2010 from 1.327 billion in 2008 and 1.229 billion in 2008, according to data released by the World Steel Association on Friday.
"The production data is better than people could expect in the aftermath of the crisis in 2009," said Anthony de Carvalho, administrator on the steel committee at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD).
"The economic stimulus programmes (undertaken by governments) indirectly helped the steel industry. But many countries are still below pre-recession levels."
Asia and other developing countries drove the growth and reached record production levels, while output in Western economies lagged behind 2008's levels as growth remained fragile and the construction sector was hit hard, analysts said.
Production in China, the world's largest steel producer, rose 9.3 percent to 626.7 million tonnes on the previous year, but its share of global production fell to 44.3 percent from 46.7 percent in 2009.
Analysts said China's growth was strong but hampered by electricity cuts in the last part of 2010, analysts said.
"China had problems trying to meet environmental requirements," said Peter Fish, managing director at MEPS, a steel information provider.
"But the Chinese could not grow 20 or 30 percent like some other countries, because in 2009, when everyone else took a dip, China didn't."
Chinese steel production is expected to grow but at a slower rate in 2011, closer to 5 percent versus 7-8 percent growth in India, Fisher forecast
As China's economy grows, the authorities are likely to turn to monetary policy to contain inflation, and this could affect steel demand, according to analysts.
"We do think that a tighter monetary policy in China will slow down steel consumption and this will start to kick in in the second half of 2011," said Chris Houden, analyst at CRU.
Japan, the world's second-largest steel producer, enjoyed 25.2 percent growth in 2010 to 109.6 million tonnes versus 2009. Its exports have got a boost from growth in neighbouring economies such as China and Korea, according to De Carvalho.
EU and U.S. steel production grew rapidly but from a lower base. Production in the European Union grew by 24.6 percent to 172.9 million tonnes and in the United States by 38.5 percent to 80.6 million.
These countries are still struggling with overcapacity, analysts said.
"(Capacity) utilization is picking up from low levels, but the question is: Will producers keep production low to get price increases?" said UBS analyst Andrew Snowdowne.
While steel production in emerging economies will continue to grow to record levels, it may take developed countries a few more years to go back to pre-crisis levels given the fragile state of their economies, analysts said.
(Reporting by Silvia Antonioli; editing by Jane Baird, reuters.com@reuters.net))