Ukrmetallurgprom predicts a decline in steel production by 10.5% in December

Ukrmetallurgprom forecasts a decline in steel production in December by 10.5% to 1.7 million tons, compared to December of the previous year.

Pig iron production will fall by 7.21% to 1.7 million tons, while production of rolled products will grow by 6.25% compared to December 2018.

GMK Center analysts expect steel production to reach 21.5 million tons at year-end 2019, up 1.9% on 2018. They revised their initial forecast of 22–23 million tons in view of a sharp worsening of the market situation and capacity utilization problems at Dniprovskyi Iron and Steel Works (DMK) and Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMZ).

As reported earlier, DMZ was going to suspend its main shops for large-scale repairs. Meanwhile, DMK completed the repair of the continuous casting machine No. 3 and preparations for putting it into operation.

“Given the suspension of capacities of DMK and DMZ, it is safe to assume that until the end of the year, the monthly steel output will not exceed 1.7 million tons,” GMK Center analysts say.

In January–September, Ukrainian steelmaking companies ramped up production of steel by 2% to 17.93 million tons, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Over ten months, production of rolled products increased by 1% to 15.54 million tons, while production of pig iron decreased by 0.1% to 17.07 million tons, against January–October 2018.