The deficit of foreign steel trade in the EU increased at the beginning of the year

In the first quarter of 2023, the deficit of foreign steel trade in the EU (rolled and semi-finished products) exceeded 1.1 million tons per month, recording further growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 (864 thousand tons). This is stated in European Steel Association (EUROFER) review «Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2023-2024/Q3».

During January-April 2023, the trade balance deficit reached an average of 1.3 million tons per month. In 2022, it was 1.6 million t/month, and in 2021 – 1.5 million t/month.

In the first quarter of 2023, the deficit of foreign trade in rolled goods was 535,000 tons/month, which exceeds the figure of 446,000 tons/month recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022. In the first four months of 2023, the deficit in the trade balance of steel products amounted to 776,000 tons per month.

The Asian states – South Korea, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and India – became the countries with which Europe recorded the highest deficit of foreign trade in rolled steel with the results of January-April 2023. The main destination countries for the export of rolled steel from the EU with a positive balance of trade in this product for the 4 months of 2023 were the USA, Switzerland, Great Britain and Turkiye.

As GMK Center reported earlier, EU steel companies in January-May 2023 reduced exports of steel products to third countries by 8% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 7.16 million tons. The export of long rolled products decreased by 4% y/y in 5 months – to 2.65 million tons, and flat – by 10% y/y, to 4.51 million tons. Great Britain, Turkiye, the USA, Egypt, China, Brazil and India were among the main consumers of steel products of the European Union in this period.