UK/EU decarbonisation policy should ‘stop screwing around’
Fortescue founder and chairman Andrew Forrest says the UK and EU should “stop screwing around” with policy which is not supporting decarbonisation.
The Australian businessman told the Innovation Zero event in London, attended by Kallanish on Tuesday, that industry should switch off fossil fuels this decade. He claims “the economics and the technologies are there,” but the policies are not.
According to Forrest, net zero is “a fraud” as it allows the continued use of fossil fuels. Fortescue, which produces iron ore, has committed to achieving “real zero” by 2030 across Scope 1 and 2 emissions by eliminating fossil fuels use and without purchasing carbon offsets.
In a brief speech note, he stressed that the corporate sector is not abandoning its climate commitments, but only “the weak, the puerile, the short-sighted” are.
Fortescue Energy, the group’s green energy arm, has significantly scaled back its 2030 green hydrogen production target of 15 million tonnes/year. Amid macro challenges, the company has abandoned some markets and continues to “optimise and refine” its project pipeline.
In its March-quarter report, also published on Tuesday, Fortescue said the projects’ timelines are being reassessed and adjusted “to reflect global market conditions and uncertain policy settings”. These include the Arizona project in the US and the Gladstone PEM50 project in Australia, with “greater clarity” expected by the end of June.
The company continues to progress feasibility studies and planning approvals for the Holmaneset project in Norway and the Pecém project in Brazil. It has yet to provide a new production volume target for 2030.
ArcelorMittal: Trade disruption threatens demand growth forecast
Trade disruption could lead to downside risks to the previous forecast of higher apparent demand on-year in 2025, says ArcelorMittal. Steel spreads have recovered in Europe thanks to policy measures, but remain depressed in China amid excess capacity.
Robust underlying demand continues in India, with newly approved safeguards expected to support prices, while tariffs are supporting values in the US. The Steel and Metals Action Plan, enhanced safeguards against imports and the German infrastructure fund are supporting the outlook in Europe.
However, “the Action Plan now needs to be supported by rapid implementation; of critical importance is visibility on the provision of industry access to competitive energy, an effective CBAM and Trade defences. At that point, the Company will be able to review its investment priorities for the Europe segment,” ArcelorMittal notes in a report seen by Kallanish.
In February, the firm said demand should grow, with restocking activity supplementing real demand improvement amid low inventory levels. However, the firm had expressed a similar expectation a whole year earlier, but restocking ultimately failed to materialise in 2024. The latest downside risks refer especially to the US and China, it says.
Despite a more uncertain outlook, the company has made no changes to its investment plans. Capital expenditure in 2025 is projected to be within the range of $4.5-5 billion, including $1.4-1.5 billion on strategic growth projects and $0.3-0.4 billion on projects related to decarbonisation.
ArcelorMittal’s consolidated steel shipments inched up 1% on-year in the first quarter to 13.6 million tonnes. Crude steel production rose 3% to 14.8mt. Sales fell 9% to $14.8 billion, with net income down 14% to $805 million. Ebitda fell 19% to $1.58 billion, with Ebitda margin down 1.32 percentage points to 10.7%.
In Europe alone, steel shipments rose 4% on-year to 7.5mt and Ebitda margin grew to 5.1% versus 4.4% a year earlier, while North America Ebitda margin dropped to 16.5% versus 21% a year earlier.
“Heightened uncertainty around the terms of global trade is hurting business confidence and risks causing further economic disruption if not quickly resolved. It is encouraging however that around the world, governments are committed to supporting their domestic manufacturing industries,” says ArcelorMittal chief executive Aditya Mittal.
Adam Smith Poland
Holiday trading lull keeps Italian steel heavy plate market quiet
The Italian market was quiet during the week, with a holiday-related slowdown in activity adding to already sluggish demand, sources added.
Offers for May rolling plate were reported at €660-670 ($752-763) per tonne.
Industry sources, however, said they felt that such prices were too high for the spot market and were only possible for project business at the moment.
Transactions for commodity-grade steel heavy plate in Italy have been reported at no higher €630-650 per tonne ex-works, with some sources even reporting sales at €620 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was unchanged on Wednesday at €630-650 per tonne.
Sources were not optimistic about future prices trend, considering the approaching summer holidays, when activity is traditionally slower, and with stable-to-lower prices for steel slab – a key feedstock for plate production.
“Considering the slab price is around $500 [per tonne] CIF, and [with the] summer slowdown on the horizon, there is no room for heavy plate price to increase,” a source in Italy said.
The only supportive factor for the market could be limited import availability amid stronger trade measures. But sources suggested the effect only would be visible in longer run.
“There are still considerable stocks of imported plate in ports available at prices around €20-30 per tonne lower than local material and with short delivery times,” a second source said.
Slow demand drags on Italian HRC prices, Northern Europe holds stable
Trading was subdued amid continued holidays across Europe, sources added.
Nonetheless, in Northern Europe, mills were heard to be targeting higher prices for June- and July-delivery coil, with offers reported at €680-700 ($775-797) per tonne ex-works.
One integrated mill in the Benelux area was said to be “heavily overbooked” for the second quarter, with lead times stretching. Offers from suppliers were in the range of €690-700 per tonne ex-works, according to sources.
A re-roller in the region was offering coil at lower prices – €650 per tonne ex-works.
Buyers’ estimations of tradeable levels were still in the range of €640-660 per tonne ex-works.
“Demand is slow – everyone’s on holiday, so basically there is no movement in the market,” a buyer in the Netherlands said.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €654 per tonne on Wednesday, down slightly from the previous calculation of €654.74 per tonne on Tuesday.
The Northern European index was up by €2 per tonne week on week and up by €9 per tonne month on month.
While mill sources were pushing for higher prices, citing good order books and limited imports due to trade measures, buyers claimed real demand was not strong enough to allow for any further upticks.
Market participants said they hope to get greater clarity regarding the direction of prices after the Made in Steel trade fair in Milan on May 6-8.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €623.13 per tonne on Wednesday, down by €4.37 per tonne from €627.50 per tonne on Tuesday.
The index was down by €2.29 per tonne week on week and down by €1.87 per tonne month on month.
Holidays further limited already-weak demand in Italy, sources told Fastmarkets.
One integrated mill in Italy was heard offering at €640-650 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €630-640 per tonne ex-works.
Another supplier was heard selling June-delivery HRC at €610-620 per tonne ex-works.
Sources estimated tradeable values at €610-630 per tonne ex-works on Wednesday.
Some bids were reported as low as €600 per tonne ex-works.
“There has been a quiet holiday period with limited demand for nearly three weeks. Now there will be pressure on mills to drop prices,” a source in Italy said.
Meanwhile, the gap between imports and domestic is widening, but it has not spurred buying interest for overseas coil much so far since buyers remained cautious about quota availability and anti-dumping duties.
The lowest offers were reported from Indonesia and Malaysia at €520-540 per tonne CFR to Italy.
From India, offers were reported at €565-580 per tonne CFR for June shipment, depending on the supplier.
June-shipment HRC from one Turkish mill was on offer at €550-570 per tonne CFR to Italy, including the EU anti-dumping duty.
IREPAS in Athens: Markets in unknown territory
The 92nd meeting of IREPAS (the International Rebar Exporters and Producers Association) was held in Athens on April 27-29 in conjunction with the SteelOrbis Spring’25 Conference.
There were 143 representatives from 49 different producers among the 502 registered delegates from a total of 58 different countries. There were also 97 registrations representing 50 different raw material suppliers.
At the opening of the conference, Murat Cebecioglu, chairman of IREPAS, said that the global long steel products market is currently overwhelmed by a spiral of duties and trade measures and protectionism such as has never been experienced before. He stated that the recently created uncertainties in the market on top of the already existing problems, the markets are now somewhat lost.
The IREPAS chairman added that the current environment is not bright and the level of competition in the global market is very strong, being almost at maximum levels.
On the last day of the conference, producers of long steel products, as well as traders and raw material suppliers, shared the conclusions reached at their special committee meetings regarding the current situation in the markets with the general participants at the event.
Raw Material Suppliers at IREPAS: Challenging year ahead, market will be much slower in H2
Jens Björkman, the chairman of the raw material suppliers committee, noted that the EU steel industry has started the year quite well, though steel production in the region was low in the first quarter. He highlighted that the new German government is expected to ease the pressure from the uncertainties on the market, which may boost steel production. Noting that the green transition in the EU seems to be postponed, indicating that there seems to be no viable transition until at least 2030, he stated that a lot of mills in the EU will start shifting from the blast furnace route to the electric arc furnace route in the next five to 10 years and there will be uneven demand for scrap until that time. Addressing the scrap export restriction plans in the EU, he stated that, as scrap demand is low in the region now, any restrictions would put pressure on the steel industry but may also lead to more bureaucratized trade between scrap generators and steelmakers.
Regarding the Trump administration’s tariff actions, the chairman of the raw material suppliers committee stated that, in the first few months this year, sales to the US were at enormous levels as a new tariff was anticipated. Noting that EU-based mills were running at high capacity to export to the US before the implementation of new measures, he said he believes that the market will be much slower in the second half of this year. He added that Trump’s second term will be much different than his first term. In addition, he expressed the belief that, despite the actions taken by the US, Canada and Mexico will not impose tax on steel exports to the US as the US is their biggest trade partner and a restriction would hurt their own industries.
Björkman stated that iron ore prices have been fluctuating at around $100/mt CFR, compared to $89/mt CFR seen in September 2024, due to higher production at the end of last year and early this year. He noted that, if China lowers steel production and the general output of iron ore increases, these two factors together will result in lower iron ore prices.
Traders at IREPAS: No reduction in US tariffs expected, trade conditions remain challenging
F. D. Baysal, the chairman of the traders committee, stated that, although the US imposing new 25 percent tariffs on imports from the countries previously exempted from the Section 232 measures seems like an advantage for the countries such as Egypt and Turkey which were already subject to 25 percent tariffs, only 18 percent of total imports into the US was from the Section 232-paying countries and 82 percent was from the exempted countries. He added that, despite the advantages some countries will gain, there will be no improvement in the market conditions given the economic uncertainties and the general market slowdown. Also, he said he believes that there will be no reduction in the US tariffs.
Looking at the EU, he said there have been some reductions in the import quota volumes, resulting in more challenging trade conditions. Considering the increased sales of wire rod and HRC over the past quarter from the ASEAN region to the EU, Mr. Baysal noted that, even though there are some restrictions on certain ASEAN countries, the EU is now more open to those countries compared to its old traditional markets given the free trade agreements between the EU and some Southeast Asian countries.
Mr Baysal added that he foresees no reduction in China’s exports and capacity utilization going forward.
Producers at IREPAS: Markets in unknown territory because of tariffs
Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS and also chairman of the producers committee, pointed out that the hot topic during the producers committee meeting was tariffs and their effect on business, adding that this is completely unknown territory and that nobody has any idea where things are headed at the moment, which makes it very difficult to conduct business.
He said that, as the Chinese domestic market is not doing so well, China will still be the main factor depressing prices as it is heavily dependent on exports and its prices are quite low compared to those of other exporters. He went on to say that the stimulus package is not helping much at the moment to boost to market, which is why China is selling billet to countries like Turkey and many other countries.
The IREPAS chairman noted that, as billet is a competitive alternative to scrap in terms of price, particularly Turkish mills will keep buying billet, adding that, as long as prices are at the current levels buying billets is much more profitable, even though the lead times from Asia are two to three times longer.
Commenting on the GCC shifting from being an importer to being an exporter, Mr. Cebecioğlu said that the reason they are exporting is that they have overcapacity, and are selling to the EU, especially Germany, and to North Africa and Israel. He indicated that the answer to the question on whether their exports will continue depends on how infrastructure projects will take shape in the region in the coming period and how much of that demand the local market can absorb: otherwise, they will continue to export.
Revista InfoAcero Abril 2025
En el siguiente enlace pueden acceder a la edición de Abril de nuestra revista INFOACERO
Destacamos a continuación algunos de sus contenidos:
- Opinión – D. Gerardo García- Junta Directiva UAHE
- Índice UAHE: Evolución precios de aprovisionamiento Septiembre 2024 – Febrero 2025
- Metal: Coyuntura del Metal-Confemetal- Abril 25
- Información Asociativa: Conferencias UAHE, Asamblea General y Formación
- Resumen Steel Net Forum Iberia, Vilamoura (Portugal)
- Colaboración RRHH: “Misión Imposible” – D. Agustín Barroso– Director RRHH HIEMESA
- Colaboración ASCEM: “Paradigma actual de la estructura metálica en España 2025” – D. Victor Guerrero – Luvimetal SLU – ASCEM
French longs prices flatten
French steel prices have largely remained stable since the €10-15/tonne ($11-17/t) hike observed in March. Profitability remains a significant concern for flat and long steel producers, service centres, and end-users, Kallanish notes.
The outlook for May appears to be unfavourable, with multiple sources anticipating a decline in longs prices, as well as potential decreases in coil derivative values over the upcoming ten days.
“Seasonally, demand in May declines significantly. The market is dominated by significant uncertainty. Despite producers’ push for potential price increases, particularly for flat products, I do not see any increase happening in the coming weeks,” a steel purchasing group source comments. Another source forecasts a price decline in May for all steel products as a result of the seasonality and anticipated domestic scrap price fall.
Another buyer indicates margins are tight throughout the value chain. The first quarter saw lacklustre demand for longs, with only modest restocking occurring in January. Variations were noted based on geographical regions and sectors. The western region of France appears to be showing marginally better performance compared to east.
A rebar distributor in the south noted a period of subdued activity during January and February, followed by a modest improvement observed in March and the early days of April. Producers from Spain and Italy are entering the French market with competitive rebar pricing, thereby impacting sales of domestic products.
Domestic sections and merchant bar prices are flat. First category beams are at €780/t delivered while domestic merchant bar prices in France are observed at €250-260/t base delivered, with effective prices, inclusive of size extras, at €670-690/t delivered. The domestic rebar market is also flat. Values are hovering at €630-645/t delivered on average, sources suggest.
Natalia Capra France
German rebar defies scrap price drop
Despite the noteworthy decline of scrap prices over one month, German rebar mills are seen holding their values firm, supported by supply limitations.
An Austrian buyer expresses concern over the scrap price decline, by over $50/tonne in some cases. Rebar prices could follow with some delay. “So, if I buy at today’s prices, will I have to sell below that price in some weeks when mills’ prices come down?” he wonders.
Against that, a buyer at a big German distributor tells Kallanish that “German mills are laid back about it; they do not feel pressured because of low availability of material.” Another manager concurs, and adds that “the range of sorts in the [mills’] inventories is rather thin; your order will be served from new rollings.”
Riva’s rebar mill in Hennigsdorf near Berlin has remained idle since December. Some observers also believe that Badische Stahlwerke, after its merger with Van Merkensteijn, might shift more into production of wire rod than rebar.
Both German managers see domestic base prices at €420/t ($479) and above, which plus the size extra of €265 comes to €685/t. The Austrian buyer says he would be prepared to buy at €50/t below that in Austria, for domestic or Italian material. He also believes there will be more downward price pressure. The German price levels may work “when all mills are unanimous, but not if one starts making concessions,” he notes.
Christian Koehl Germany
Silence extends in European HRC market
As a result, offers provided earlier this week within the range of €680-700 ($776-799) per tonne ex-works found no support from buyers, who assessed workable prices varying mainly in the range of €650-660 per tonne ex-works.
As a result, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe at €654.74 per tonne on Tuesday, down by €1.26 per tonne from €656 per tonne on Monday.
Import HRC offers from Indonesia were reported at €600 per tonne DDP and slightly higher, but were left without customers’ interest either, according to market sources.
In Italy, HRC offers varied within the range of €620-640 per tonne ex-works, while workable levels were estimated in the range of $620-630 per tonne ex-works. Nevertheless, no major deals were heard done during the day.
“The market is in wait and see mode. All of my customers are on vacation or waiting for the Made in Steel event [to be held in Milan on May 6-8],” a trader said.
Thus, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €627.50 per tonne on Tuesday, stable day on day.
Sources also reported Indonesian HRC being available at €530-535 per tonne CFR Italy. Turkish material was offered at €560 per tonne DDP, while Indian HRC offers were heard at €580 per tonne CFR.
Published by: Vlada Novokreshchenova
Trump to provide US automakers with tariff relief for imported parts
Trump was expected to sign the order ahead of an evening rally at Macomb Community College in Macomb, Michigan, to celebrate his first 100 days in office.
Ahead of the order, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “This deal is a major victory for the President’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing.”
Automakers are reportedly expected to receive credits for imported auto parts for as much as 15% of the value of vehicles assembled in the US.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday April 25, “There are exemptions and solutions for the auto industry with the President aiming to make the US a top destination for auto manufacturing.”
Bessent, who was interviewed on Fox Business, confirmed news reports that Trump’s order will eliminate “double tariffs” on imported autos and parts.
As a result, imports of cars and parts subject to a 25% auto tariff will not be charged an additional 25% Section 232 tariff, the secretary confirmed.
Under current trade rules, auto parts from Canada and Mexico that are compliant with the United-States Mexico-Canada Agreement do not face any tariffs.