The rating agency Fitch Ratings warned that the increased tariffs from 25% to 50% on all steel and aluminum products imposed by the US could affect primarily its own domestic market.
Fitch emphasized that if the increased tariffs remain in place for a longer period, US´s industrial sectors will see their margins reduced due to higher material prices.
In 2023, the country imported about 18% of the steel it consumed. The situation is worse for aluminum while the country produced only 0.7 million tons compared to a total consumption of 4.7 million tons; 70% of the total came from Canada.
Fitch noted that when similar tariffs were introduced in 2018, steel prices rose 43%, although the trend reversed in early 2019. For this time, hot-rolled steel prices have increased 13%.
In April this year, Turkey’s cold rolled coil (CRC) imports amounted to 72,027 metric tons, increasing by 37.7 percent compared to March and 17.8 percent year on year, according to the preliminary data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Meanwhile, the value of these imports totaled $48.11 million, up by 37.7 percent compared to the previous month and 3.7 percent year on year.
In the January-April period, Turkey‘s CRC imports amounted to 286,228 mt, up 31.6 percent, while the value of these imports increased by 11.7 percent to $189.25 million, both year on year.
Turkey’s cold rolled coil imports – last 12 months
In the given period, Turkey’s largest CRC import source was South Korea, which supplied 94,868 mt, up 40.8 percent year on year. South Korea was followed by Russia with 69,643 mt, up 39.4 percent year on year and China with 59,783 mt, up 116.0 percent compared to the same period last year.
Turkey’s top 10 CRC import sources in the January-April period this year:
The Zimbabwe government has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the neighbouring Zambia to build a pipeline to transport refined petroleum products from Zimbabwe to Zambia.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, disclosed the developments during a post-cabinet press briefing held in Harare on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, adding that the pipeline would ease the country’s reliance on road transport, eliminating the risks associated with such a mode of fuel transport.
“Cabinet approved the MoU between the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Zambia in Facilitating Private Sector Development and Implementation of the Zimbabwe-Zambia Oil Products and Natural Gas Pipelines Project,” the Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting stated on X (formerly Twitter).
“The MoU will facilitate the development of a new pipeline system to transport refined petroleum from Zimbabwe to Zambia. The MoU leverages on Zimbabwe’s existing capacity for oil and gas storage, processing and transportation coupled with Zambia’s growing demand for affordable and efficient energy use.”
“Transporting fuel to Zambia by pipeline is expected to take fuel tankers off the roads, thereby reducing damage to road infrastructure.”
The newly signed MoU will leverage Zimbabwe’s existing oil storage, processing, and transport infrastructure to meet the skyrocketing demands in Zambia, deepening bilateral ties between the two landlocked neighbours.
While the project’s implementation details had not yet been shared with the public at the time of reporting, the pipeline project is expected to streamline fuel transport between Zimbabwe and Zambia, lower consumer prices, and reduce safety risks often associated with road transport.
Steel prices, which normally fall a bit during the summer, appear to be heading downward even before the summer season officially begins. This mostly seems to be linked to a forecast downturn in demand. claffra/iStock/Getty Images Plus
OEMs typically take downtime in June and July. It’s one of the reasons why you rarely see prices shoot higher in the early summer. (I sometimes wonder why mills do outages in the spring when their customers do them in the summer, but I digress.)
Sure, mills might announce price hikes over the summer, but often it’s to try to slow any price declines.
In recent years, prices have regularly peaked in April, slipped in the summer, and then recovered in the fall. (Let’s forget last year, which was a little unusual. There was no recovery in the fall—just one very long bottom and no recovery until winter—but you get the picture.)
Generally speaking, we’ve seen sheet prices rise in the summer only if there has been an external shock, such as the surprise imposition of Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico in 2018 or the unexpected rebound in demand throughout 2021 following a pandemic-stricken 2020. We saw prices rise through the summer in both years.
New Mexico’s crude oil production rose to a record high for a second consecutive month in March 2025, growing by 100 kb/d from February to 2.26 mb/d. New Mexico’s crude oil production has more than doubled since 2019 with 80% of the growth occurring on federal lands in Lea and Eddy Counties. Nearly 70% of New Mexico’s crude oil production occurs on federal land vs. 27% of total U.S. crude production.
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