The latest customs data on steel trade show that falling steel exports from the European Union (EU) to non-EU countries in the first quarter of 2011 made the EU a net steel importer again, according to the third quarter report of the ‘Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2011-2012', released by the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER).
The EU's steel exports in the first quarter of 2011 were almost 4.5 percent lower than the level of exports in the same period of 2010. After the trade surplus that the EU maintained during the past two years, in the first quarter of 2011 total exports amounted to less than 2.2 million mt per month.
Export of flat steel products fell by around nine percent, whereas exports of long steel products increased by three percent, both compared with the same period of 2010. The trade surplus for long products amounted to 540,000 mt per month in the first quarter, mainly in rebars and heavy sections. Net imports of flat products reached 380,000 mt per month, having registered a modest surplus since Q2 2009. However, the largest trade deficit is for semis, at 630,000 mt per month in Q1 2011.
As far as the main export destinations for long steel products are concerned, Algeria remained by far the largest single country of destination, accounting for almost 60 percent of rebar exports and for significant volumes of other long products.
EUROFER's forecast for 2011 signals that EU steel exports in 2011 will stabilize at around 2010 levels due to the strengthening of the euro against the US dollar and the negative impact of geopolitical unrest on demand for steel products in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Meanwhile, In 2012, EU steel exporters may see an improvement in sales opportunities abroad as the drag from the euro fades and demand from customers in the Middle East and North Africa is partly restored.