Spain reduced steel production by 10% y/y in January-June

In January-June 2023, Spanish steel companies reduced steel production by 10% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 5.72 million tons. This is evidenced by World Steel Association’s data.

In June 2023, Spanish steelmakers produced 940 thousand tons of steel, which is 10% less compared to the previous month and 6.8% compared to the same month in 2022. Thus, steel production in the country fell to a minimum since February 2023 (925 thousand tons).

The average monthly steel production in Spain in January-June amounted to 954.8 thousand tons, while for the same period in 2022 the figure was at the level of 1.06 million tons (-10.05% y/y).

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

In general, steel production in the EU countries in June 2023 fell by 11.1% compared to June last year – to 10.6 million tons. In January-June 2023, 66.3 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 10.9% less y/y.

The decline in steel production is likely due to weak demand for finished products, as well as unfavorable pricing conditions. High production costs of steelmakers do not allow reducing steel prices to levels that would be favorable for buyers, so the demand for domestic products is low. At the same time, imported steel is in demand due to lower prices.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, European steelmakers reduced steel production by 10.5% compared to 2021 – to 136.7 million tons. Overall, global steel output fell 4.3% y/y last year – to 1.831 billion tons.