Ukrainian steel output to remain low in early autumn

The head of Metallurgprom, Ukraine’s association of steel companies, announced that Ukrainian steel enterprises plan to produce 2.59 mmt of steel in October, after 2.64 mmt in September. He admitted that in contrast to production volumes (which has been stable, but low), the financials of domestic enterprises are worsening.

Roman Topolyuk: The announced aggregate plans for October confirm our expectation that there will not be a swift rebound in the domestic steel sector in the months to come – daily steel output in October would decline back 5% mom to 83.5 kt, after a 4% mom bounce in September. That, combined with lowering prices on finished products, will put pressure on the export revenue of steel makers, presumably pushing it below USD 1.3 bln a month (the average in 2011 was USD 1.5 bln a month).