European apparent steel consumption is forecast to increase by 1.90% year-on-year in 2018 and by 1.40% year-on-year in 2019, European steel association Eurofer said at a seminar held in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday February 5.
European steelmakers gained EU market share over the course of 2017, with import volumes falling in the second half of 2017. Steel imports held a 21% share of apparent steel consumption in 2017, Eurofer said."There was a slight moderation in import pressure with volumes falling by about 1% year-on-year in 2017," Jeroen Vermeij, Eurofer director of market analysis and economic studies, said."Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures helped temper [the level of] dumped imports but other countries filled the gap," he added."We can be confident [for 2018] on the demand side but there is uncertainty on the supply side," he said.While imported steel volumes from China, Ukraine, Russia and Iran into the EU fell in 2017, import volumes from the likes of India, South Korea and Taiwan increased,...