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Bloomberg
One of the world’s top steelmakers is tracking this week’s high-stakes trade talks in Washington, forecasting that a failure by the US and China to make progress to end their prolonged stand-off risks undercutting steel demand as mainland manufacturing would likely take a hit.
“If it doesn’t get sorted out by the day after tomorrow, then we can see less demand from China,†Ranjan Sinha, director of raw materials and IT procurement at Tata Steel Europe Ltd, said in an interview in Singapore. Tata is Europe’s second-largest steelmaker.
The US and China hold a critical round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday, with negotiations taking place after a threat from Donald Trump of further tariff hikes on Chinese imports.
The risk of a further escalation in tensions between the two largest economies has spurred losses in equity markets. Still, JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon puts the odds of the two sides reaching a deal at 80 percent.
China is the world’s largest steel producer, and trends in that nation in pricing and demand to shape the global market.