Issue 03, 2025 - This week's editorial: Global markets eye Trump's return, Asia slows as Chinese New Year approaches

Price rises and limited market restocking for flat and long products are taking place in China before the Chinese New Year holiday begins. Last week, hot rolled coils values strengthened somewhat while the construction steel market experienced a rebound as evidenced by a modest increase in rebar prices. Several re-rollers are expected to halt production in the coming days as customer engagement starts to decline in anticipation of the Chinese New Year. 

In the Middle East, Turkish imported scrap prices, which have been declining since mid-December, showed signs of a rebound on fresh deals concluded towards the end of the last week. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is accelerating the steel sector growth strategies announced during the fourth Future Minerals Forum (FMF) recently held in Riyadh.

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