Spain cut scrap consumption to a six-month low in July

In July 2023, Spain reduced the consumption of scrap by 24.4% or 189 thousand tons compared to the previous month and by 14% compared to July 2022 – to 587 thousand tons. This is evidenced by the data of the Spanish Association of Steelmakers Unesid, informs Kallanish.

The July volume of raw material consumption was at the lowest level since the beginning of the year. The Spanish steelmaking sector also reduced steelmaking, which affected scrap consumption.

During January-July 2023, the consumption of scrap by Spanish steelmakers decreased by 0.2% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 5.55 million tons. The use of scrap accounted for 83.2% of the total rate of steel production in the country.

In July, Spain produced 823,000 tons of steel, which is 9.7% less compared to June, and 12% less until July 2022. The July indicator was the lowest since January 2023. In January-July, the country’s steelmakers reduced steel production by 8.6% y/y – to 6.76 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in August Spain reduced steel production by 12.2% compared to the previous month – to 790 thousand tons. In January-August 2023, Spanish steelmakers increased steel production by 7.1% compared to the same period last year – up 7.42 million tons.

In 2022 Spanish steelmakers decreased steel production by 19.2% compared to 2021 – to 11.46 million tons. In December, the country’s steelmakers produced 686,000 tons of steel, which is 19.8% less than the previous month.