23 February 2023 – Scrap exports from the EU are to be banned. This could be a boomerang for steel producers. Is the demand for a steel export ban coming? US HRC prices jump significantly upwards. Goldman Sachs sees rising commodity prices coming in 2023 with China recovery.
Will the EU steel export ban now follow the scrap ban?
Scrap exports from the European Union are to be restricted with the new EU Waste Shipment Regulation, and according to the will of the steel manufacturers even completely prevented. The recycling companies and their political associations, above all EuRIC, the umbrella organisation of the European recycling industry at EU level, are opposed to this. [https://www.euric-aisbl.eu/position-papers]
EuRIC: Steel scrap is not a critical raw material
In a position paper from February 2023, EuRIC once again clearly states that an EU export ban on scrap would pose a huge threat to recycling companies, which currently process more than 100 million tonnes of ferrous scrap per year and make it available to the economic cycle again. The association also strongly disagrees with the demand of the European steel producers and their lobby organisation EUROFER to have scrap classified as a critical raw material.
Export bans destroy jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises
Export bans shake the foundations of the European Union’s economic performance. They put the well-being of a few large multinational mega-corporations above the economic viability of small and medium-sized enterprises and the livelihoods of millions of workers and their families.
End for European steel exports?
And if the raw material scrap is so valuable that it must be banned from export and protected with the label Critical Raw Material, why are EU steel producers allowed to export 42 million tonnes of steel products per year to other EU countries? And are they thus deliberately depriving the EU of this raw material, which in the steel lobby’s opinion is so valuable? One could already call for an end to European steel exports…
US HRC prices jump upwards
For several days now, there have been increasing reports from the United States that the prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) are climbing to new heights. Most recently, HRC prices at three of the four major US steel producers were already quoted at $1000/st. Prices for cold-rolled coil and hot dipped galvanised (HDG) even reached 1200 $/st.
Goldman Sachs sees bullish market for commodities in 2023
In an interview for the US channel Bloomberg TV, the Global Head of Commodities Research at Goldman Sachs, Jeff Currie, said that with the recovery in China, the favourable trend in US inflation and the decline in Russian oil production, commodities will rally in 2023. Currie sees the recovery in China as the real core of the upward trend, and that everything currently points to this going well.
Latest news
- Most important EU nickel supplier to drop out?
- US stainless steel imports pick up significantly in January
- Ferrochrome prices strong, availability tight
We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
