Steel industry players share their conclusions at SteelOrbis Fall Conference & 61st IREPAS Meeting

Tuesday, 20 October 2009 12:51:07 (GMT+2)

The SteelOrbis Fall '09 Conference & 61st IREPAS Meeting held in Dubai, UAE, concluded on Tuesday morning, October 20, with the reports from the committee meetings which took place during the conference.

The chairmen of the committees are as follows:

Wire rod & Rebar Suppliers Committee Chairman: Mohammed Al Saadi - Qatar Steel, Billet Suppliers Committee and Producers Committee Chairman: Ugur Dalbeler - Colakoglu Metalurji, and Raw Materials Committee Chairman: Yusuf Guven - Helveco Intertrade, Traders Committee (Michael Setterdahl of Nucor Trading represented the committee at the panel and at the committee reports session today).

Raw Materials Committee: Mr. Guven emphasized the importance of consistency in the industry and also mentioned that he expects China will maintain its demand especially from the US.

Traders Committee: Although the volumes are down compared to last year, there is still considerable business going on. In general traders expect the prices to be better during the first quarter of next year. The main issues in the current trading environment are pricing power to secure margins and also credit insurance.

Wire-rod & Rebar Suppliers Committee: Europe seems optimistic as regards the prospects for 2010. There is good potential and positive expectation regarding improvement in the Middle East next year. Although the construction industry was hit the worst  by the financial crisis, the global economic situation gives market players hope regarding the future of the wire rod and rebar markets.

Producers Committee: The producers concluded that there is no really a reason to be pessimistic. They expressed the view that producers had reacted sufficiently well in adjusting to the crisis situation. The producers also discussed side factors that support prices such as oil prices, real estate markets, etc. However, prices are not the main point, rather price margins are more important. At present, producers are producing only what they can sell. Mr. Dalbeler concluded that the approaching winter will be unlike last winter and that everyone will be more confident at the next SteelOrbis/IREPAS meeting in the spring.

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