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BUSINESS

Disappointing trends for Danish exports: DI

New goods exports figures are disappointing. It is crucial that trade wars do not escalate, says the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).

Disappointing trends for Danish exports: DI
File photo: Asger Ladefoged/Ritzau Scanpix

According to new figures published by Statistics Denmark, Danish exports fell by 0.4 percent in February. Exports have now fallen for three consecutive months – by a total of 1.3 percent, writes dibusiness.dk.

“Exports have, unfortunately, seen only weak movement during the winter months. This is disappointing because the world economy is growing at a decent rate and this growth is evenly distributed across all regions. It is essential that Denmark is not left out of the global boom so that we can bring our exports up to speed again. We especially need to increase sales to Europe,” said DI head analyst Allan Sørensen.

“Otherwise, I view the general trend in Danish exports as positive. Last year, exports grew in seven out of ten markets, and exporters are keen to do more. This means that almost 50 percent of our exporters are indicating that they are considering entering several new markets in 2018,” Sørensen said.

“Trade wars and currency fluctuations may present exporters with huge challenges in 2018. It is particularly crucial that the trade war between the United States and China does not escalate and spread because that would really be detrimental to Danish exports,” the DI analyst continued.

The price of the Danish krone has increased in the past year and the krone is now at its highest rate in four years.

Denmark’s currency has increased against the US dollar, the Chinese yuan and the Swedish krona.

READ ALSO: Danish companies warming up for a strong 2018: analysis

ENVIRONMENT

Sweden’s SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

The Swedish steel giant SSAB has announced plans to build a new steel plant in Luleå for 52 billion kronor (€4.5 billion), with the new plant expected to produce 2.5 million tons of steel a year from 2028.

Sweden's SSAB to build €4.5bn green steel plant in Luleå 

“The transformation of Luleå is a major step on our journey to fossil-free steel production,” the company’s chief executive, Martin Lindqvist, said in a press release. “We will remove seven percent of Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions, strengthen our competitiveness and secure jobs with the most cost-effective and sustainable sheet metal production in Europe.”

The new mini-mill, which is expected to start production at the end of 2028 and to hit full capacity in 2029, will include two electric arc furnaces, advanced secondary metallurgy, a direct strip rolling mill to produce SSABs specialty products, and a cold rolling complex to develop premium products for the transport industry.

It will be fed partly from hydrogen reduced iron ore produced at the HYBRIT joint venture in Gälliväre and partly with scrap steel. The company hopes to receive its environemntal permits by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: 

The announcement comes just one week after SSAB revealed that it was seeking $500m in funding from the US government to develop a second HYBRIT manufacturing facility, using green hydrogen instead of fossil fuels to produce direct reduced iron and steel.

The company said it also hoped to expand capacity at SSAB’s steel mill in Montpelier, Iowa. 

The two new investment announcements strengthen the company’s claim to be the global pioneer in fossil-free steel.

It produced the world’s first sponge iron made with hydrogen instead of coke at its Hybrit pilot plant in Luleå in 2021. Gälliväre was chosen that same year as the site for the world’s first industrial scale plant using the technology. 

In 2023, SSAB announced it would transform its steel mill in Oxelösund to fossil-free production.

The company’s Raahe mill in Finland, which currently has new most advanced equipment, will be the last of the company’s big plants to shift away from blast furnaces. 

The steel industry currently produces 7 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and shifting to hydrogen reduced steel and closing blast furnaces will reduce Sweden’s carbon emissions by 10 per cent and Finland’s by 7 per cent.

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