Prices to resume falling in April

摘要

In early March, scrap prices increased by 6% in Ukraine due to a pos? sible drop in supply. Certain market participants announced they were going to cut prices at the end of the month. Supply remains the major factor determining steel scrap price dynamics in Ukraine. Insufficient inventories (about 80,000 t in total at the beginning of March) provide no safety buffer to steelmakers in the event of market destabilization. Deliveries to mills are gradually rising, and Metal Expert expects supplies will increase by 10?15% over March. However, market participants believe trading activity may slow down in the segment in April because of tighter quarantine measures. Metal Expert forecasts the restrictions will ease in May, so supply will be recovering rapidly up until the end of the quarter.