12 June 2025 – Aluminium prices have risen again in recent days, and today they have already increased again in Asia. Steel imports into the EU have fallen significantly, even if lobby groups would like to suggest otherwise.
Aluminium prices continue to rise
Asian aluminium prices rose again today, with the SHFE up between 1.1 and 2.0% depending on the contract. Yesterday, aluminium prices on the LME had already exceeded the USD 2,500/MT mark and stood at around USD 2,522/MT shortly after the start of trading today. US Midwest aluminium premiums also rose sharply again yesterday, up 12.5%.
Steel imports into the EU have declined significantly
The recently published Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2025 2026 by the European steel makers’ lobby is once again a string of mostly non-transparent data. The import figures are also based on an undefined origin and are commonly referred to by EUROFER as ‘customs data’. EUROFER does not specify the source of this customs data in its Economic and Steel Market Outlook.
EUROFER’s basic data is not transparent
In addition, Eurofer’s report sometimes includes finished steel products including semi-finished steel products and sometimes only finished steel products. This can lead to further confusion regarding the import figures. The association does not specify what it counts as finished steel products and semi-finished steel products, nor does it indicate the ratio between them or even specific quantities.
Official EUROSTAT figures paint a different picture
Based on the latest official import figures from the European statistics authority EUROSTAT and taking the relevant statistical base year 2021 as a starting point, imports into the EU excluding semi-finished products have fallen from approximately 35.2 million tonnes (2021) to 31.5 million tonnes – a decrease of 10.5%!
EU steel mills are the largest importers of steel products
Imports into the EU, including semi-finished products, fell by 11.7% from 44.3 million tonnes (2021) to just 39.1 million tonnes in 2024. This shows that EU steel manufacturers are among the largest steel importers in the EU, with 9 million tonnes of semi-finished steel products in 2021 and 7.6 million tonnes in 2024, accounting for 20% of all imported semi-finished and finished steel products.
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