Consumption in India is strong. Construction is going on though there was some flood-related disruption, auto sector demand is very strong. Most sectors are going to catch up with 2019 numbers which is great.
China has been a bit disappointing. Post the removal of restrictions all of us expected it to bounce back. So did the Chinese steel industry. They started producing more but the recovery didn’t happen. So China was exporting more than they did for the last few years and that was causing some pressure on steel prices internationally. But I think the worst is behind us. Chinese exports have started dropping a bit, so international prices are stabilizing a bit. That is also reflected in coal prices going up a bit.
If you look at Europe, the auto sector is still doing quite okay. Construction activity hasn’t really picked up much. I do see a challenge in Europe for at least this calendar year. The positive thing is last year we were hurt very badly by high gas prices, high electricity prices. All that is coming back to long term levels. So on the cost side we are not under the kind of pressures we were last year. On the demand side, I expect things to get better by next year.
Green steel
We are making good progress (on talks with the UK government toward support for the production of greener steel). Hopefully will find a solution sooner than later. I don’t want to talk specific numbers. Hopefully there will be a decision soon. Hopefully in weeks.
