After a troubled start to the year, China’s steel market has improved dramatically since April. Strong demand continued in May but there were moments in the month when it appeared demand was sliding. At the same time, production restrictions over winter have been replaced by other restrictions in some areas, particularly because of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. How these factors will balance in the coming weeks will decide in what state the market enters the next period of stronger demand at the end of summer.

Internationally meanwhile, the threat of trade wars has not abated. While this has had a detrimental impact on some public data, we round up some of our latest reportage on President Trump’s tariffs in the export section of this issue. Trade may still turn out to be a distraction however.

The question that global steel markets should be asking is will China’s steel demand spike last?