Redwood: The key issues for global steel producers

With the Tata crisis in Port Talbot continuing, John Redwood, Charles Stanley's global investment strategist, looks at the current state of global steel markets.

Last year China produced around half of all the steel made in the world. Japan, India, USA and Russia were important producers. Germany accounted for a quarter of the EU total and Brazil was the largest South American producer. China produced almost five times as much steel as the EU as a whole. Fund managers reveal changes to their commodities allocation this year The world market remains oversupplied, with steel prices very weak. Over the last year, prices of various types of steel have fallen by about one quarter to a third. The surplus of steel mirrors the excess output of oil and...