Weekly review of international steel hot spots: Russia lowers scrap export tariff quotas and South Korea becomes Turkey’s largest supplier of cold-rolled flat steel (1.15-1.19)

Global steel prices have been mixed this week. Among them, long products were stable but weak, and plate prices rose slightly. In terms of long products, affected by China's rebar futures, long product prices have stabilized and weakened in most parts of Asia. Since semi-finished products fell more than finished products, profits of Chinese steel mills have recovered. However, as futures continue to weaken in the later period, steel mills' willingness to raise prices has begun to become stronger. Overseas markets are performing well. At present, the quotations of most Chinese steel mills have remained stable or even declined, and traders are relatively willing to export. In terms of plates, plate prices have increased in most Asian regions except India. Due to oversupply, Indian plate prices have fallen and are expected to rebound in February or March. China's Spring Festival holiday is approaching, and there are many local construction and manufacturing activities. Some Vietnamese steel mills have raised wire rod and plate prices. This increase is in line with expectations, the market has fully followed up, and transactions are acceptable. From the perspective of overseas markets, most plate exporters have increased their quotations to the Middle East, and the prices of local resources in the Middle East have also increased. However, due to the Red Sea crisis, local buyers are less accepting. Steel prices in European and American markets remained stable this week, but are expected to fall in the future due to the impact of local production rhythms and the Red Sea crisis. As the capacity utilization rate of U.S. steel mills gradually recovers, the production pace gradually accelerates, and the delivery cycle begins to shorten. It is expected that when inventory pressure reaches a certain level, U.S. steel prices will fall. At present, Europe's domestic resources have more advantages, but due to the Red Sea crisis leading to extended shipping schedules, the prices of imported resources may be under pressure in the future.