Salzgitter stated that an extension of EU steel safety measures is not possible

The European Commission extended the measures by one year from June 2023.

Salzgitter said the decrease in prices in recent months was due to the deteriorating situation in the Chinese market, which has increased import pressure from other Asian countries into the EU. The volume of imports in May was over 1 million tons, the highest level since October 2021.

Salzgitter also said that trading firms prefer to keep their stocks as low as possible due to high financing and storage costs.

Demand from some end-users, including the construction sector, weakened in the first half of the fiscal year, Salzgitter said. High inflation also affected demand from other sectors, including home appliances and other consumer-related sectors.