Jul 25, 2023
EU steel imports fall in H1, excluding HRC
EU imports of finished and semi-finished steel fell significantly during the first six months of the year, with the exception of hot rolled coil and semis, according to the latest numbers put together by Eurometal.
Overall imports dropped 18.34% year-on-year to 18.8 million tonnes. Italy was the largest importing country, with almost 4mt, followed by Belgium and Spain, at 2.4mt and 2mt respectively.
Intake declined of most long and flat products. Tubular products saw only a minor reduction, of 1.9% y-o-y, while semis intake recovered over 36% y-o-y to over 60,000t.
Despite the overall negative trend, it is worth noting that the largest sub-group was among the few to register a recovery. In the six months, the EU imported over 4.2mt of HRC, up 1.3% y-o-y. HRC import activity has accelerated since May, and has continued strongly in July, Kallanish notes.
Emanuele Norsa Italy
Source: Eurometal
