This past week in Barcelona, the SteelOrbis Spring '07 Conference and IREPAS 56th Meeting took place, where over 250 SteelOrbis members and market watchers gathered to discuss the state of the steel market.
SteelOrbis/IREPAS conferences are mostly frequented by wire rod and rebar mills of the world, as well as buyers and fabricators of rebars and wire rod, and also many raw materials and scrap dealers. These conferences have been an excellent platform for making sense of the current state of the world markets and predicting the road ahead. This time, the mood was visibly positive among the attendees as the steel prices are at historically high levels, and everyone involved in steel making, trading and even consuming, are making good profits. Most speakers and attendees predicted that the good times will last at least until the end of 2007.
Presentations about the long products market were given by F.D. Baysal of Seba International Ltd., who covered the US market, and Andres Barcelo of UNESID (union of Spanish iron and steel companies), who discussed the European market. The two presenters agreed that the long product markets in both regions will continue to be robust. Mr. Baysal said that the US long product market should remain strong due to the unchanged interest rate (which is good for construction) and the downward trend in energy costs. He expects to see strong third and fourth quarters for 2007, a sentiment that was echoed by the majority of the conference-goers.
There were also presentations about the scrap market given by Can Unsalan of Ferro Overseas Inc. and Mr. Ocal Gebelek of Rolmet. Mr. Unsalan sees that the US scrap market is growing stronger every day, due to the strengthening export market for which Turkey is the main customer. He predicts that the scrap market will grow increasingly stronger as the global scrap supply gets lower. Mr. Gebelek also concluded that scrap prices will continue to increase due to the continued strength expected for the international rebar market.
Interesting and informative presentations were also delivered by Jose Angel Rey of Grupo CELSA, who discussed the Global Market and Macro Economics; Sudarshan Singh of Al-Tuwairqi Group, who presented on the Middle Eastern steel market; Joachim Shroder of Research & Consulting Group AG, who shared his outlook for the Asian steel market; Chi Jingdong of China Iron & Steel Association, who discussed the Chinese long product market; and Ivan Osadchiy of Evraz Group, who gave his explanation for the boom in the Russian market.
In conclusion, SteelOrbis Spring '07 Conference and IREPAS 56th Meeting was a successful event, and these bi-annual conferences are becoming one of the major events of the steel industry at large, providing both market insight and invaluable networking opportunities.