Ukrainian steelmakers in January-November this year, according to operational data, reduced the production of total rolled steel by 70.1% compared to the same period last year – to 5.242 million tons.
According to the association Ukrmetallurgprom, for eleven months of 2022, steel production fell by 68.6% – to 6.157 million tons, iron – by 68.4%, to 6.144 million tons.
As reported, in 2021, 21.165 million tons of cast iron (103.6% by 2020), 21.366 million tons of steel (103.6%), 19.079 million tons of rolled steel (103.5%) were produced.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is opening a regional office in Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“We have just concluded an agreement in Paris that officially gives grounds for launching the so-called “Liaison Office” of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Kiev. Since Ukraine is recognized as a potential OECD member, the office will tentatively operate until 2026 to support our country during the recovery,” Shmygal wrote in his telegram channel on Monday.
He said the OECD was a co-sponsor of the Marshall Plan and is now helping to develop Ukraine’s Recovery Plan.
“This month, we also received a description of the provisions of the OECD program, which will help to implement the Organization’s standards in various sectors. We are ready to start preparing it together so that we can join the “club of successful countries” as soon as possible. This will be a marker of Ukraine’s readiness to join the EU and will help establish the state as a regional leader,” Shmygal wrote.
The cost of London offices may fall significantly in the next two to three years as demand for office space will remain low amid remote working and downsizing in some companies, experts believe Citi.
According to analysts of the investment bank, the cost of offices in the British capital will decrease by 38% over the period specified in the forecast.
Analysts say that the owners of office buildings in the next four years will have to reduce the cost of rent by 43%. Against the backdrop of falling rental prices office buildings will have to sell at a price more than 40% below current market value.
At the same time, analysts note that the duration of such a decline will mainly depend on how soon the inflation rate will slow down.
Agroindustrial holding “Astarta”, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, plans to process up to 2 million tons of sugar beet, grown at the own enterprise and supplied by the third-party farmers in the current season.
To date, the sugar plants have already produced 241 thousand tons of white sugar from more than 1.7 million tons of beets, and plan to process more than 200 thousand tons more, the holding said in a statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
“Astarta” in 2022 began the sugar season on September 16, a total of five sugar refineries of the group were working during the season.
As reported, on December, 9 sugar beet in Ukraine is harvested from 98% of the planned areas, totally 8.9 million tons (+0.3 million tons for the last week) from 177 thousand hectares (+3 thousand hectares).
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding, which operates in eight regions of Ukraine. It consists of six sugar factories, agro-farms with land bank of 220 thousand hectares, dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and biogas complex.
Agroholding increased its net profit in 2021 14 times compared to 2020 – up to EUR 122.5 mln, EBITDA – 1.8 times, up to EUR 201.5 mln. Its revenue increased by 18.2% up to EUR 491.35 mln, one third of which (EUR 170 mln) was generated by sugar production and sales.
Number of dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine as result of military actions from 24.02.2022 according to un data (per)
Data: UN
ING analysts forecast US dollar and euro parity throughout most of 2023.
“The main conclusion we drew in our currency forecast for 2023 was that a repeat of the dollar’s dominant trend next year is unlikely,” according to the review.
As noted by analysts, everyone in the foreign exchange market is concerned about whether the dollar has peaked. Data on some weakening of inflation in the U.S. and hints at easing the “zero tolerance” policy on COVID-19 in China have combined to cause the U.S. national currency has fallen by about 8% from the highs of the end.
Those in favor of continuing the dollar’s decline are fully focused on the Fed’s actions and its reversal before a full-blown cycle of monetary policy easing.
“We certainly agree that a dovish reversal at the Fed – which will eventually lead to the start of a decline in short-term government bond yields – is a necessary condition for the dollar to fall,” the survey says.
However, it also requires that investments in Europe and Asia become attractive enough to take money out of dollar deposits, experts believe.
“It remains questionable whether any of these conditions will be met in 2023, and we remain skeptical that the euro/dollar pair can maintain gains above the 1.05 level,” the report said.
