Ukrainian steelmakers increased production of total rolled products by 52.5% year-on-year to 900 thousand tons from 590 thousand tons in January-February this year, according to preliminary data.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom on Friday, steel production increased by 52% in January-February 2023 to 1.076 million tons from 708 thousand tons during this period.
Pig iron production increased by 42.5% to 1.050 million tons from 737 thousand tons.
As reported, in January-2024, the company increased production of total rolled products by 75.9% year-on-year to 453 thousand tons from 257 thousand tons, steel by 91.6% to 544 thousand tons from 284 thousand tons, and pig iron by 44.5% to 555 thousand tons from 384 thousand tons.
In 2023, Ukraine increased its production of total rolled products by 0.4% compared to 2022 to 5.372 million tons, but reduced steel production by 0.6% to 6.228 million tons and pig iron by 6.1% to 6.003 million tons.
In 2022, Ukraine reduced production of total rolled products by 72% compared to 2021, to 5.350 million tons, steel by 70.7% to 6.263 million tons, and pig iron by 69.8% to 6.391 million tons.
In 2021, the company produced 21.165 million tons of pig iron (103.6% compared to 2020), 21.366 million tons of steel (103.6%), and 19.079 million tons of rolled products (103.5%).
The movie “Oppenheimer” directed by Christopher Nolan won the Oscar in the category “Best Film”.
The awards ceremony of the 96th American Academy Awards was held in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theater on Monday night, Kiev time.
Among the contenders for the award in this category were “American Fiction”, “Anatomy of a Fall”, “Barbie”, “Unfortunate Creatures”, “Zone of Interest”, “Maestro”, “The Departed”, “Past Lives”, “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
The movie “Oppenheimer” tells the story of the creator of the American atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, focusing on the transformation of his relationship to the weapon created under his leadership.
The film also won awards for Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy) and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.). In total, the picture was awarded seven Oscar statuettes.
The best actresses according to “Oscar” became Emma Stone for the movie “Unfortunate Creatures”, the best supporting actress played D’Vine Joy Randolph in the movie “The Departed”.
The Oscar winner in the category “Foreign feature film” was the film “Zone of Interest”.
“Oscar” for best original screenplay went to the movie “Anatomy of a Fall”. The award for best adapted screenplay went to “American Fiction”.
The best documentary was “20 Days in Mariupol” by Mstislav Chernov. “The Boy and the Heron” by Hayao Miyazaki won the “Oscar” as the best animated film.
The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award, known as the Oscars since the 1940s, was established in 1929 and honors figures who have made contributions to the motion picture industry.
Prices for benchmark crude oil are falling on Monday morning, continuing the decline of the past week.
The price of May futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:08 a.m. was $81.52 per barrel, which is $0.56 (0.68%) lower than at the close of the previous session. On Friday, these contracts fell in price by $0.88 (1.1%) to $82.08 per barrel.
Quotes for WTI futures for April in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by this time fell by $0.59 (0.76%) to $77.42 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the contract fell by $0.92 (1.2%) to $78.01 per barrel.
Over the past week, the international benchmark fell by 1.8%, while the North American benchmark fell by 2.5%.
Investors are being cautious ahead of this week’s release of US inflation data and monthly reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA), which could affect the market outlook, Trading Economics writes.
Traders are also following the truce talks between Israel and Hamas, which have not yet yielded significant results, and assessing China’s foreign trade statistics.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, oil imports from China in the first two months of the year fell by about 5.7% to 10.9 million barrels per day.
Internal and external debt of Ukraine in 2010-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The European Union will support Ukraine with transitional financing under the Ukraine Facility program, for which Ukraine will bring the State Land Cadastre and the State Register of Real Property Rights into line, as well as approve measures to support the implementation of industrial parks as a tool for attracting investment to the de-occupied territories.
As the Economy Ministry reported on Friday, these two steps, which are necessary to receive transitional funding, are currently under development.
The Ministry of Economy noted that three other steps have already been taken: the adoption of the National Revenue Strategy for 2024-2030; amendments to the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office and to laws to strengthen the independence of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and additional measures to prevent and combat illicit proceeds and terrorist financing.
The Ministry clarified that these five indicators were envisaged in the Ukraine Facility Plan, which has been discussed with the EU all along, for the beginning of 2024.
The Ministry of Economy noted that the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday, March 8, approved the text of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and the EU on transitional financing under the Ukraine Facility program, as well as the relevant loan agreement. After the signing of the documents, scheduled for March 11, Ukraine will be able to receive EUR 6 billion to cover current state budget expenditures until the program is fully launched.
It is explained that the signing of the Memorandum will allow Ukraine to attract EUR 4.5 billion in March 2024 to maintain macro-financial stability, and the next EUR 1.5 billion in April 2024.
As reported, in February 2024, the European Parliament approved the regulations of the Ukraine Facility program. According to it, the EU’s support for Ukraine in 2024-2027 will amount to EUR 50 billion, of which EUR 38.27 billion will be allocated to support the state budget, of which Kyiv expects EUR 16 billion in 2024.
The Ukraine Facility Plan is a technical document required to implement the EU’s financial support program for Ukraine. The plan is not a general renewal strategy, it will cover only a part of the state changes envisaged for the coming years with a focus on macroeconomic growth, the Ministry of Economy points out.
The preparation of the Plan is carried out by the government under the coordination of the Ministry of Economy in constant consultation with representatives of the European Commission, which ensured that the document meets most of the requirements of the approved regulations at the preliminary preparation stage, the ministry added.
