During the "New Horizons in Global Steel Markets" 11th Annual Conference organized by SteelOrbis in Istanbul on November 17, Basak Turgut, marketing and sales coordinator at Turkish integrated steel producer Erdemir, stated that, following its rapid growth from 2000 to 2007, the world economy recorded sharp contractions at the beginning of the 2008-2015 period though later showing signs of a recovery, while the beginning of the 2016-2021 period can be defined as a period of cautious recovery and fragile optimism.
Mrs. Turgut stated that there have been signals of an economic recovery in many countries as of the second half of 2016, while the world purchasing managers index (PMI) increased to 52 points in October this year, reflecting a revival of global economic activity. Meanwhile, the PMI in the US moved upwards, while unemployment in the country lessened. The producer price index (PPI) in China, which had moved downwards over the previous 55 months, has started to increase. Considering these market conditions, a far more positive sentiment prevails in the global economy entering 2017, as compared to late 2015.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Turgut said that, while the 2000s started amid globalization of the economy, protectionism has become the new trend in the last 15 years for all industries including steel. Due to this new trend, a rapid increase has not been observed in growth rates. Even the EU, which actually supports free trade, has taken surprising measures and has become one of the most protectionist regions. The Erdemir official also stated that China, Russia, South Korea and Brazil are not welcomed in many markets around the world, particularly in the US and the EU, amid 355 ongoing trade investigations. While the world economy is expected to grow by only one percent this year, it seems that countries are mostly adopting independent stances and, similar to all other leading industries, trade in the steel industry will likely become more regional.