Metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in April this year increased steel production by 2.04 times compared to the same period last year – up to 574 thousand tons from 281 thousand tons.
In March 2023 it was smelted 527 thousand tons of steel.
In this case, Ukraine took 22nd place in the ranking of 63 countries – the world’s main producers of these products, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
According to Worldsteel, in April 2023 recorded a decline in steel production to April 2022 in most of the top ten countries, except India, South Korea, Russia and Iran.
The top ten steel-producing countries in April are as follows: China (92.640 million tons, down 1.5% on April-2022), India (10.721 million tons, up 3.2%), Japan (7.239 million tons, “minus” 3.1%), USA (6.586 million tons, “minus” 5.3%), RF (6.380 million tons, “plus” 1.9%), South Korea (5,689 mln tons, more by 3%), Germany (3,197 mln tons, decreasing by 3,8%), Iran (3,063 mln tons, increasing by 5,9%), Brazil (2,773 mln tons, minus 5,9%) and Turkey (2,678 mln tons, less by 20,6%).
Overall, steel production in April this year decreased by 2.4% compared to the same period last year to 161.377 million tons.
For the four months of 2023, the top ten steel-producing countries are as follows: China (354.390 million tons, up 4.1%), India (43.897 million tons, up 3%), Japan (28.861 million tons, down 5.3%), USA (26.061 million tons, down 4.1%), Russia (25.094 million tons, down 0.6%), South Korea (22.355 million tons, minus 0.4%), Germany (12.354 million tons, down 5.9%), Brazil (10.585 million tons, minus 8.8%), Turkey (10.1 million tons, down 21.3%) and Iran (9.710 million tons, up 0.1%).
A total of 63 countries produced 622.736 million tons of steel in January-April, which is 0.3% less than during the same period in 2022.
In this case, Ukraine produced 1.809 million tons of steel, which is 2.2 times, or 54% less than in January-April 2022. Is in 25th place at the end of four months-2023.
As reported, at the end of 2022, the top ten steel producing countries were as follows: China (1.013 billion tons, down 2.1%), India (124.720 million tons, up 5.5%), Japan (89.235 million tons, down 7.4%), USA (80.715 million tons, down 5.9%), Russia (71.5 million tons, down 7.2%), South Korea (65, 865 million tons, down 6.5%), Germany (36.849 million tons, down 8.4%), Turkey (35.134 million tons, down 12.9%), Brazil (33.972 million tons, down 5.8%) and Iran (30.593 million tons, up 8%).
In 2022, Ukraine ranked 23rd with the production of 6.263 million tons of steel (“minus” 70.7%).
In total, 64 countries produced 1 billion 831.467 million tons of steel in 2022, which is 4.3% less than in 2021.
Civilian casualties from February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, to May 21, 2023, totaled 24,012 (23,821 a week earlier), including 8,895 deaths (8,836), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Monday.
“OHCHR believes that the real number of civilian deaths or injuries is significantly higher, as many reports from places where such cases have occurred continue to require further confirmation, while information from some places where fighting is ongoing is delayed,” the UN data document noted.
This is the case, for example, in such locations as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.
The UN confirmed that 4,040 men, 2,403 women, 275 boys and 218 girls were killed, while the gender of 30 children and 1,929 adults could not yet be determined.
Among the 15,117 wounded are 445 boys and 314 girls, and 276 children whose gender has not yet been determined.
Compared to May 14, two children were killed and seven others were wounded.
Whereas previously the OHCHR’s update on casualty figures was issued daily, and then only on weekdays, it became a weekly update in July. This report, like the previous one, provides data by month.
According to them, the number of deaths since the beginning of May was 133, compared with 180 in April, 181 in March, 142 in February, 199 in January, 206 in December and 187 in November.
The deadliest month for civilians, the UN points out, remains March of last year, with a minimum of 4,118 deaths. In April-2022, according to an OHCHR publication, the number of civilian deaths due to the war dropped to 804, in May to 535, in June to 428 and in July to 381. In the first five days of the war from February 24-28, 362 people died, in August 336, in September 398 and in October 305.
The number of wounded in the 21 days of May was 466, compared with 494 in April, 592 in March, 457 in February, 539 in January, 617 in December, and 541 in November. In October, the number of injured dropped to 795 from 981 in September, when it was up from 917 in August. Before that the number of wounded had exceeded a thousand each month: July – 1,129, June – 1,105, May – 1,138, April – 1,891, March – 2,990. In the first five days of the war last February, 465 people were wounded.
According to the report, in the first three weeks of May this year, large-area explosive weapons killed 122 people and wounded another 431, while mines and explosive remnants of war killed 11 people and wounded 35 (8 percent of total casualties).
Government-controlled territories accounted for 83 percent of the casualties in May, according to the UN.
The summary traditionally states that the increase in numbers to the previous summary should not be attributed only to cases after May 14, because during that period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
Dynamics of gold and foreign reserves of Ukraine from 2012 to 2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Global raw sugar prices remain around $0.26 a pound on fears of supply cuts, Trading Economics reported.
That’s close to a high of more than 11 years (since October 2011) of $0.27 a pound reached in late April.
The International Sugar Organization (ISO) in its May report sharply worsened its forecast for sugar oversupply in the 2022/23 crop year to 850,000 tons from 4.12 million tons a month earlier. This is due to a downward revision in expected supplies from key regions such as Europe, China, Thailand and India.
ISO estimates sugar production this year at 177.36 million tons, compared to the previous forecast of 180.43 million tons. Meanwhile, its global consumption will rise to 176.51 million tons.
“We’ve gone from an expected sugar surplus this year to no surplus at all,” believes Frank Jenkins, president of independent broker JSG Commodities.
Just a few months ago, he expected sugar production to exceed demand by about 4 to 6 million tons. “Because of crop losses in India, China, the European Union, Thailand and Mexico, those estimates have essentially dropped to a balance level, so there’s no real surplus to speak of,” said the expert, quoted by Barron’s.
“Unfavorable weather has become a much bigger problem for all agricultural products, including sugar,” believes Robin Shaw, an analyst at brokerage Marex. “The real enemy of sugar is drought,” and there are more of them around the world, he added.
Shaw predicts that sugar demand is likely to exceed production by 6 million to 7 million tons over the next three years. He previously expected a surplus of about 4 million tons this year.
To unfavorable weather, “you can add potential yield declines due to high fertilizer prices in the last couple of years, which is not helping the sugar market,” said John Stansfield, senior sugar analyst at consulting firm DNEXT Intelligence, John Stansfield.
About 80% of the world’s sugar production comes from sugar cane and 20% from beets, according to ISO. The largest producers are Brazil and India, as well as the EU and Thailand.
Dragon Capital investment company, one of the leading players on the Ukrainian market, forecasts real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3 percent in 2023, while previously it had expected a decline of 0.5 percent.
“We have already improved our forecast: we expect GDP growth of 3% this year,” the company’s founder and head Tomas Fiala said in an interview on Radio NV.
He said power outages have already stopped since mid-February, and economic results in recent months have been better than expected.
“And we hope the economy will grow, perhaps even more than 3 percent,” Fiala added.
Dragon Capital told Interfax-Ukraine that rate and inflation forecasts will also be updated soon.
Fiala noted that Ukraine’s nominal GDP in dollars fell to $160 billion in 2022 from $200 billion in 2021.
“This is the best figure in the last 10 years, more was only in 2021: GDP was $157 billion in 2020 and $160 billion in 2022,” the head of Dragon Capital said.
As reported, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko late last week said he raised Ukraine’s GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 3.2%, while previously the government had estimated it at 1%, and the National Bank recently improved it from 0.3% to 2%.
