While manufacturers of many high-tech products can calculate with cheaper raw materials in the new year, prices for sheet steel or steel building materials are difficult to predict.
On the one hand, producers - and in the end possibly also consumers - should benefit from the significant drop in prices for some rare earths, according to experts. These are electronic raw materials that are used in LCD screens, cell phones, Batteries, Energy-saving lamps or electric motors stuck. On the other hand, lower prices for iron ore and coking coal may not make the production of 2015 steel products much cheaper on a broad front.
"With the light rare earths there is now a slightly wider availability, so prices here have fallen sharply," said Peter Buchholz, head of the German raw materials agency (DERA), the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Demand for the heavier elements from this group has collapsed. One reason: LED technology is increasingly gaining ground in the lighting industry - for this, smaller quantities of the often scarce and expensive special metals are needed. “Substitutes are also noticeable in the raw materials required for permanent magnets in offshore wind turbines or car steering systems,” says Buchholz.
It is difficult to say whether better purchasing conditions ultimately translate into lower prices for end products. But many industries are likely to be relieved that the main source of support China has now lifted its export restrictions on rare earths. Beijing complies with a judgment of the World Trade Organization.
In LCD production, for example, the price of these raw materials makes up over half of the costs according to EU data. From 2006 to 2011, dysprosium, which is used in laser technology, for example, was 60 times more expensive - from 2400 to XNUMX dollars per kilogram.
For further electronics metals is in the estimation of the DERA bosses still no relaxationin view: "In the case of germanium, indium or lithium, there has recently been a clear upward movement." These substances flow in applications such as batteries, sensor technology as well as glass fiber and IT technology. "But the quantities are usually not so high that it should come to significantly more expensive end products," said Buchholz.
The situation regarding steel raw materials, which are particularly important for the automotive, construction and mechanical engineering sectors, is unclear. "The prices of iron ore and coal have been globally falling in recent weeks," said the President of the German Steel Federation, Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, the dpa. Whether this is permanent and lead to the passing of lower costs to consumers, remains to be seen.
"The situation on the commodity markets can quickly turn around again," emphasized Kerkhoff. This is also due to the fact that there are comparatively few but powerful providers: "Protectionism and unfair market behavior are increasing."
Europe's steel cookers are struggling with problems, and despite saving efforts, many companies are in the red. In global competition, they are also at a disadvantage because of high energy prices and environmental regulations.
The development of other steel raw materials apart from iron ore is also complicated. "We see high fluctuations in steel refiners such as cobalt, molybdenum, nickel and tantalum," reported DERA CEO Buchholz. "There could be smaller price peaks."
The Hamburg Institute of International Economics reported 2014 of slightly higher metal prices in euro terms (plus 4,1 percent) compared to the previous month. The reason for this was above all the increase in the price of light metal (7,6 percent) due to the high demand from vehicle construction. Since the beginning of the year 2014, the aluminum price increase had even amounted to 29 percent.
Source: http://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/wirtschaftsticker/unternehmen-hightech-metalle-billiger-stahlpreise-bleiben-2015-in-der-schwebe_id_4396634.html
