European steel companies expect better results in 2H 2019

European steelmakers who spoke in Milan this week in Milan believe the second half of 2019 should be more positive for the European market.

Antonio Gozzi, CEO of Duferco Group, said the global recession hasn't started yet. However, Europe is slowing down due to a number of challenges and many uncertainties that the continent has largely created on its own.

“The problems in the automotive sector, for example, have been triggered by a lot of mixed signals that the European authorities and the local government sent out, which affected consumption,” said Gozzi.

A similar point of view is shared by Eurometal President Fernando Espada. He stressed that China and the United States are demonstrating that a global crisis is not happening.

“The situation will not get worse in the second half of 2019. Demand is currently stable and in some markets, such as Spain, we have seen an improvement in the situation in recent months compared to the beginning of the year, ”said Espada.

He added that Europe is a specialist in creating uncertainty for the market, be it political decisions like Brexit or the automotive industry.

The president notes that another element of uncertainty was created in the market by the announcement of the cancellation of the thyssenkrupp-Tata Steel Europe merger last week. Speakers at Made in Steel said the news came as a surprise to most and stressed that further consolidation in the apartment sector needs to be ensured in the future.

The European Steel Association, Eurofer, confirmed last week that steel consumption in Europe is set to decline -0.4% in 2019.