Billet producers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have become more active in export markets this year amid a slowdown of construction activity in the region, Fastmarkets has learnt.

As competition in the global steel markets remains fierce, Metal Bulletin provides an update on the new, progressing and closed trade cases from around the world in July 2018.

Growth in Turkey’s steel industry ranks third in the world behind only China and India, according to Veysel Yayan, general secretary of the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers’ Assn (DCUD).

Indian steel product export prices could fall if high import tariffs are applied to steel from countries such as South Korea, Turkey and Japan by the United States, sources have told Metal Bulletin.

Chinese steelmakers’ narrowing margins and improvements in the supply of Brazilian iron ore have resulted in lower penalties for alumina content in the steelmaking raw material recently, though there are factors that could raise buyers’ sensitivity toward this impurity in the coming months.

Latin America editor Ana Paula Camargo looks at the main news covered by Steel First over the past week.

Brazilian sellers have ramped up containerized exports of steel scrap into South Asian markets over the past year but this explosion in export sales is unlikely to be a long-term trend, sources have told Fastmarkets.

Prices for Asia-origin steel commodities could remain elevated for April- and May-shipment cargoes, although this will depend on further policy changes in China and the United States, market sources have told Metal Bulletin.

Global steel scrap prices softened in the week ended Friday July 6, amid a fall in demand across most regions. Turkey booked no new deep-sea cargoes and the Indian market was also quiet, while prices on the East Coast of the United States remained flat due to a lack of deals.

Metal Bulletin reviews the major stories that have affected the steel market over the past week.