Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/27/2014 -- The Russian metals sector will face headwinds over coming quarters as European and US demand remains weak and global oversupply weighs on metal prices. We expect production of key metals to remain modest, with company investment plans focusing on improving plant efficiency and reducing costs rather than building new plants or expanding production capacity. Despite weak growth, Russia will remain one of the world's largest producers of base and industrial metals including nickel, steel and aluminium.

Steel, Aluminium & Nickel Supply Glut To Weigh On Growth

We expect Russia's rank among global steel producers to come under threat, as the country's largest steelmakers experience squeezed margins resulting in production cuts. Russian steel consumption will be boosted by the country being awarded a number of large-scale events to host in the country, which has brought substantial investment into construction. However, the global steel market will remain mired in significant overcapacity, sluggish demand and weak margins for the foreseeable future.

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Global aluminium oversupply will continue to precipitate weak aluminium prices. We expect prices to head modestly higher over the period to 2017, but fail to return to their 2011 peaks. Aluminium prices averaged US$2,421/tonne in 2011, while we forecast prices to average US$2,013/tonne over the period 2014-2017. Russia's largest aluminium producer, Rusal, has demonstrated weak performance over the past financial year as a result of low prices.

We expect weak growth in Russian nickel production of just 0.9% y-o-y from 2013 to 2017, reaching 274.7kt in 2017. Global nickel inventories continue to rise, compounding what is an already oversupplied market. LME stockpiles reached 256kt in Q413, with no reversal of this trend in sight.

Oligopolies To Remain In Place

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