ANALYSISl: Average increases of 3% - 5% of sales in the first quarter

The sales of major corporations in the construction industry increased slightly in the first three months of this year and the average turnover developments reported during January-March 2013 reached 3% -5%. The corporate activity was positively influenced by the favourable weather during the last three months of last year and the first quarter of 2014 and the revival of the residential market in Europe and USA. However, the crisis in Ukraine had a negative impact on sales. Even if the multiplier effects of the economic growth in Russia have not yet been fully reflected in the activities of companies in the two countries affected by the current geopolitical context, the negative impact of recent events on the exchange rate has resulted in significant losses for companies in the first three months of the current year. In what concerns the possible effects of the crisis on the neighboring markets, these cannot be estimated at present, due to generally unforeseen events. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), the global production of steel in the first three months of this year stood at 404 million tonnes, up 2% from the corresponding period in 2013. The Chinese production has also increased with 2%, which represents a slight slowdown in growth dynamics of this market. In the Eurozone (EU28) the quarterly production of steel increased by 7%, while North America recorded a trend of only 1%, subject to weather conditions. For the full year course, WSA estimates an increase of 3% of global steel consumption. In what regards the trading prices on the European market, these have fell in the first quarter, mainly due to the reduction of scrap quotation, while the flat product prices have stabilized. In North America, the trend rise of commodity prices remained flat during the beginning of 2014 and increases were estimated by manufacturers starting with the second half of last year. In China, the quotations of all steel products decreased slightly between January and March 2014.