S. Africa’s carbon steel sales down
South
Africa's domestic carbon steel sales fell 6.9 percent year on year in the first half of the year due to the massive import inflow and a strong rand.
In addition, domestic steel producers' exports fell 1.5 percent year on year during the first six months of the year, the South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI) said.
The decline in carbon steel sales may impact the sales volume of Mittal Steel South
Africa Limited and Highveld Steel and Vanadium, even though these two still benefit from higher steel prices.
According to the SAISI data, the country's steel imports rose 2.1 percent year on year in the first half of the year. Imports accounted for 6.8 percent of total domestic steel
consumption in the first half compared to the 6.4 percent recorded for the whole of 2004.