STEEL NEWS

Chinese demand for metallurgical raw materials will continue to grow in 2H

According to Platts, the Ukrainian steel group Metinvest estimates that strong demand for raw materials in China will remain in the second half of the year or even longer, while demand for semi-finished products is still viewed more as a temporary window of opportunity. This was stated by CEO Yuri Ryzhenkov in an interview with S&P. Global Platts, 8 September.

During the first six months of 2020, Metinvest significantly changed the volume of supplies of iron ore products from Europe to Southeast Asia and China. While the EU traditionally accounted for about 45% of Metinvest's iron ore exports, in the first half of the year this share fell to 18%. According to Ryzhenkov, the volumes were redirected to Asia.

“Today, we sell almost 2 million tonnes of iron ore per month to Southeast Asia and China,” said the CEO. The 2 million tonnes includes resale of iron ore products produced by Metinvest's joint venture Yuzhny GOK.