Quota uncertainty in Europe makes market players wait
In his Assessment of the European markets, Kutai Kenan Yulku, trade manager at Tata International Limited, said that the new period, which will begin on July 1 in the European Union quota system for steel imports, made market players wait due to uncertainty about product groups and distribution by country. He said that in the current environment, both manufacturers and merchants are trying their best to take risks, and that, especially for hot-rolled coils and sheets, buyers are still cautious about new purchases due to inventory levels and quota risks, despite the widening gap between domestic prices and import prices.
According to Ulku, local prices in Europe are expected to rise starting in the autumn months. Meanwhile, the fact that production capacity in Europe cannot be increased quickly due to logistics, energy, infrastructure and the age of enterprises may lead to the continent facing supply shortages, especially of marketable steel products.
Middle East and North Africa can gain weight in investments in green steel
Assessing the Middle East markets at the meeting, Ali Der, COO of Universal Rolling WLL, stated that the Middle East, along with markets such as Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, remains an important steel export region for Turkey. He said that the tension in the Strait of Hormuz has clearly shown how fragile the production chain in the region is. Der stressed that Bahrain Steel occupies a crucial position in the supply of iron ore pellets to the region and that the disruptions in Hormuz caused by the cessation of pellet supplies have led many producers, especially in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, to face difficulties in production planning. Therefore, he stressed that the "just-in-time" approach based on timely deliveries should now be replaced by the "just in case" approach, which maintains higher stocks of semi-finished products and raw materials. However, he also stated,
