The international steel market showed a positive trend in 2024, with steady growth in demand, a good supply situation and a stable overall market. ‌

Relationship between supply and demand

The supply and demand relationship in the global steel market continues to improve, pushing steel prices up steadily. Affected by the global economic recovery 

and increased investment in infrastructure construction, global steel demand has shown a steady growth trend, steel production has gradually recovered, supply 

has gradually increased, but the growth rate is relatively slow, making the relationship between supply and demand gradually balance ‌1.

Raw material price fluctuation

The price fluctuation of raw materials such as iron ore and coke is large, which has an impact on the production cost of steel. With the rise of raw material prices, the production 

cost of steel mills has increased, which has formed a certain support for steel prices, but at the same time, it also brings certain risks to the operation of steel mills. It is necessary 

to strengthen cost control and risk management ‌12.

Policy environment

The policy environment has an important impact on the steel market. For example, the Chinese government, while promoting green development, strengthens environmental 

protection supervision over the steel industry, which may lead to the elimination of certain production capacity, affecting the supply relationship of the market ‌23.

International trade situation

The international trade situation directly affects the trend of the international steel market. Some countries have adopted trade protection measures and imposed tariffs on imported 

steel, leading to price fluctuations in the international steel market. In addition, global economic integration makes the supply and demand changes in the international steel market 

have an important impact on the domestic market ‌14.

Specific market dynamics

‌ Southeast Asian market ‌ : Southeast Asian market demand is growing rapidly, becoming one of the important destinations for steel exports.

‌ Middle East market ‌ : China's steel exports to the Middle East have increased significantly, for example, in 2022, China's steel exports to Turkey have increased significantly ‌5.

To sum up, the international steel market shows a positive trend in 2024, the supply-demand relationship improves, the fluctuation of raw material prices has a significant impact, 

and the policy environment and international trade situation also have an important impact on the market trend.