IMF comments on Ukraine; Oct. consumer confidence up; NBU on FX support to hryvnia. liquidity; steel news

According to Ukrpromzovnishexpetyza, prices for the key, exported Ukrainian steel products─billets, slabs, reinforcing bars (rebars) and hot-rolled coils (HRC)─stopped falling in the second week of November and remained unchanged in the week ending 20 November. Overall, prices for Ukrainian exported steel declined 10-20% from their peaks this year. In October-November, the average price for Ukrainian square billets dropped 11%, to US$585/t FOB Black Sea; rebar price declined 9%, to US$640/t; while slab and HRC prices slipped by 8% and 11%, to US$565/t and US$600/t, respectively. From the start of September to date, Ukraine\'s utilisation of rolling capacity increased by 4ppt, to 72% for long steel, and decreased by 4ppt, to 73%. In the same period, however, Ukrainian steel inventories in Black Sea ports hit the year\'s record high of 1.3mt. Earlier, a number of Ukraine\'s leading steel producers announced production cuts in November: in particular, Metinvest\'s Mariupol Illich Steel (MMKI UK; NR; UAH0.26) will reduce its HRC output by 28% (50,000t) and IUD\'s Alchevsk Steel (ALMK UK; NR; UAH0.11) and Dzerhzhinsky Steel (DMKD UK; NR; UAH0.16) are to cut their rolled steel output by 25%, to 0.26mt, and 14-16%, to 0.25-0.26mt, respectively.