Steel production drops again

Global steel production in February was 120.412 million tonnes, reflecting a 3.3 percent decline on an annualized basis. Given the two months of the year, the decline was even greater and amounted to 5.2 percent.

In the EU, the decline was more significant than the world average, reaching 6.3 percent - 13.081 million tons in February, and since the beginning of the year the decline is about 7 percent to 25.514 million tons. Germany produced 3.362 million tonnes in February, lowering output by 4.3 percent, while production fell 3.1 percent in two months. Italy produced 1.928 million tons, a decline of 2.1 percent. In February, the UK produced 598 thousand tons, down 37.9 percent from a year earlier. Among the largest European producers, only France has increased production since the beginning of the year, and produced 1,317 million tons in February, up 2.6 percent.

The situation is better outside the EU. The Turks increased production to 2.37 million tons, which is about 4 percent more than last year. Ukraine produced 1.969 million tons in February and 3.907 million tons from the beginning of the year, an increase of 24.1 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Moldova increased production by 233.3 percent to 40 thousand tons in February and by 325 percent to 85 thousand tons since the beginning of the year.

Kazakhstan produced 281 thousand tons in February, increasing output by 15.3 percent. Since the beginning of the year, the volume of production there increased by 28.2 percent. While steel production fell in Belarus and Russia. In Belarus, February production fell by 25.5 percent to 156 thousand tons. In February, production in Russia amounted to 5.666 million tons, which is 2.7 percent less than last year. In the first two months of the year, the decline in production in Russia reached 6.7 percent at an annual level.