In his keynote speech at AMM and WSD’s annual Steel Success Strategies conference in New York on June 17-19, Philip Englin, CEO of World Steel Dynamics (WSD), said that during the 2017-18 period steel prices went up by over 50 percent on the back of a 40 million mt per year decline in Chinese exports and a 50 million mt increase in non-Chinese steel demand. However, in 2019, pricing went down by 10 percent year on year, as Chinese exports saw a slight rise and as non-Chinese steel demand declined slightly. Mr. Englin underlined that Chinese exports have a far bigger influence on global steel pricing than non-Chinese demand, adding that stability in China is one of the key factors supporting prices.
During his speech, Philip Englin referred to a UBS survey published recently covering approximately 300 manufacturers with facilities based in China about their intentions regarding investments for the next couple of years. Over 15 percent of those surveyed said that in 2019 they are considering switching the focus of their manufacturing investments away from China or moving existing facilities out of China.
Mr. Englin said that the economic slowdown in China driven by the US-China trade war has a very real influence globally. According to the WSD CEO, assuming that China and the US figure out a trade deal, this development will unleash demand that has lately accumulated psychologically.