British Steel has raised structural steel prices by £100/t

British steelmaker British Steel has increased structural section prices by £100/t ($120.35A/t) for all new orders with immediate effect. SteelOrbis reports about it with the reference to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The company attributed the increase to a surge in energy prices and the significant impact on steelmaking costs.

Platts estimated the UK day-ahead baseload electricity at £381.85/MWh.

The UK usually produces around 7 million tonnes of steel per year, which is about 70% of the country’s annual requirement, although this index has fallen to 6.05 million tonnes in 2021.

The UK government has started a consultation on a scheme to support energy-intensive industries including steel, paper, glass, ceramics and cement. Businesses with high electricity consumption can receive subsidies for electricity costs. The government is also conducting consultations on the option to increase the level of exemption for certain environmental and policy costs from 85% of costs up to 100%.

As GMK Center reported earlier, steelmakers in many regions of the world stopped or reduced capacity due to falling demand for steel products. Steel companies are expecting an increase in demand and an increase in steel prices in the fall, after the end of the summer period of decline in business activity.

Also, the deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in 2021 has decreased by 8.1% compared to 2020 – to $4.7 billion. Last year, exports of goods from Ukraine increased by 38.4% compared to 2020 – to $68.1 billion, and imports – by 34%, to $72.8 billion.