STEEL CONSUMPTION BY RUSSIA WILL DROP 12%

Russia's steel consumption will drop by 12% in 2015, according to Yuriy Mishin, head of the managing committee at the country's national steel industry association Russtal, speaking at the Russian Metals Market conference in Moscow.

Russian export prices for flat steel products have reached their bottom, Vadim Larin, ceo of major steelmaker Severstal, said on the sidelines of Russia's annual Metal-Expo exhibition.

Larin looked positively on the large-diameter (LD) pipe sector, expecting Russian LD pipe use to grow by 4% both this year and next.