9 October 2024- Asian nickel prices remain stable and resilient, even though the market wanted more details on the Chinese stimulus programme. Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity: EUROFER calls for more market protection immediately.
Asian nickel prices remain stable
Nickel prices on the Asian SHFE have moved sideways today after a significant rise of up to 2% yesterday. The European nickel price was also stable at the start of trading today. Nickel prices are thus proving to be very resilient, even though the market had hoped for more details about the Chinese government’s financial policy measures.
NPI and stainless steel scrap prices rise
This can also be seen from the slight increase in nickel pig iron prices in China (approx. +0.6%) and a further rise in Chinese stainless steel scrap prices (grade 304, +1.97%).
This could reinforce our internal view that a new bottom is currently forming in nickel prices.
Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity: EUROFER again calls for more market protection
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC), whose members are primarily made up of steel-producing EU member states, the European Union itself and some OECD members, met on 8 October 2024.
As expected, the associated press release once again attacks those countries that have a growing industry and an associated increase in crude steel production.
EUROFER calls for more market protection immediately
The European steel producers’ association EUROFER is once again using the results of the GFSEC to call for new and immediate market protection measures.
Important economic area missing from GFSEC report
A glance at the GFSEC report ‘Steel exports, trade remedy actions and sources of excess capacity’ from May 2024 to realise that the GFSEC never tires of pointing the finger accusingly at Asian countries such as China and India, but completely ignores one economic area – the European Union!
Why is the GFSEC report silent on EU excess capacities?
The average steel excess capacity exported by EU steel producers in the period 2020 – 2024 was around 18.06 million MT per year, with an average crude steel production of 136.89 million MT per year. While, for example, Indian exports in the same period were only 14.8 million MT per year with an average crude steel production of 121.15 million MT. (Sources: GFSEC, worldsteel, EUROFER)
EU steel producers have thus exported an average of 13.2% of their excess capacity, while India has only exported 12.2%.
It is hardly surprising that the EU, which largely dominates the GFSEC, is not mentioned in this report or in the press releases as an exporter or its own excess steel capacity.
This is just another attempt to create a mood against emerging Asian industrialised nations in order to push through further unjustified and purely politically motivated market protection measures.
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