According to media reports, US-based rating agency Fitch Solutions Macro Research has announced that it has lowered its 2019 global steel price forecast due to the ongoing increase in global steel prices driven by negative market sentiment caused by the US-China trade war and the risky atmosphere in the global economy.
According to Fitch Solutions, steel prices will decline and follow a downtrend due to weaker demand and higher production.
The agency stated, “We are revising down our 2019 global steel price forecast from an average of $650/mt to $600/mt, as prolonged weak investor sentiment on the back of the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China and increasing downside risks to the global economy continue to pressure prices.”
Fitch Solutions also added that in China, though demand from infrastructure and construction sectors has been strong since the beginning of the year, steel production has also increased, which has loosened the steel market.