LONDON, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - SSAB (SSABa.ST) has kicked off European steelmakers' quarterly earnings season with a profit drama.
Poor demand in Europe, declining steel prices and severe rises in energy and production costs are to blame.
With steel consumption expected to decrease further in the second half of the year, investors sent SSAB stock down more than 15%.
Without a deal, trade tariffs, which have been temporarily frozen, would return in December along with retaliatory measures from the EU.
For SSAB, whose heavy plate business in North America was relatively stable during the second quarter, that would take things from bad to worse.
Persons:
SSAB, steelmakers, Valdis Dombrovskis, Pamela Barbaglia, whir, George Hay, Streisand Neto
Organizations:
Reuters, SSAB, European Central Bank, Union, Twitter, Thomson
Locations:
Europe, U.S, North America