German distributors’ steel product sales, stocks decline on year in Feb: BDS

Steel product sales in the German distribution and stockholding system fell to 834,796 mt in February, down 7.1% year on year, German steel stockholders’ association BDS reported March 21.

The February total was also down slightly from the 836,149 mt sold in January indicating steady restocking activity in Europe.

Within this figure, monthly sales of long products totaled 245,262 mt, down 10.9% year on year, while sales of flat products reached 529,054 mt, down 2.7% from a year ago.

Total February sales were also higher than both the 825,630 mt/month averaged in 2022 and 707,808 m averaged in Q4 2022, according to BDS.

Stronger demand and client restocking was also evident in the monthly steel inventories which declined 13.0% on an annual basis to 1.981 million, the BDS data showed.

The stocks were also lower than the 2.18 million mt/month averaged in 2022 and 2.054 million mt averaged in Q4.

However, February’s stocks were 0.6% higher than 1.969 million mt in January, with both long products at 748,959 mt and flat products at 1.188 million mt edging higher on a month-on-month basis.

Economic backdrop

The German composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February, published on Feb. 21, rose 0.7 point to 50.70, marking a fifth successive month of improvement as sentiment among manufacturing firms continued to improve after Berlin took steps to support businesses and consumers amid soaring energy prices.

On Nov. 25, 2022, Berlin approved up to Eur200 billion of borrowing to cover expenses for businesses and households arising from the energy crisis, alleviating some of the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for the economy.

The improved sentiment is particularly evident across the country’s automotive industry, which recorded a 2.8% year-on-year increase in registrations in February, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Northwest Europe hot-rolled coil at Eur850/mt ($917/mt) ex-works Ruhr March 20, up from Eur610/mt Dec. 1, 2022.

— Euan Sadden