According to the preliminary data issued for the first five months of 2009, Russian domestic consumption of finished steel products decreased by 40 percent year on year to 9.3 million mt. Meanwhile, deliveries to the domestic market of finished steel products manufactured by Russian steelmakers decreased by 38.3 percent, while importers reduced their finished product deliveries to the Russian market by 53 percent, both compared to the same period last year.
In January-May 2009, Russian domestic consumption of pipes amounted to 1.9 million mt - down 43 percent compared to the same period last year. Deliveries of Russian pipes to the domestic market decreased by 42.7 percent year on year, while the deliveries of imported pipes went down by 44 percent.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in the first five months of 2009 Russia produced 19 million mt of finished steel products - down 28.7 percent, including 10.9 million mt of longs - down 29 percent, and 8 million mt of flats - down 28 percent, all compared to the same period last year. Russia's steel pipes output decreased by 30.9 percent year on year to 2.4 million mt.