The first quarter of this year was a bad one for Russian steel-consuming industries, Russia's Metal Supply and Sales magazine has reported. Domestic industrial production was up just 1.4 percent compared to the same period last year. There was a downturn in the engineering sector, with market players in particular reporting a strong downturn in enterprises in the medium machine-building sector (agricultural and automotive).
The statistics for house-building in the first quarter show more encouraging data - volumes are up by a third compared to the same period last year.