It's reported that Standard & Poor's (S&P) has lowered Russian NLMK's long-term corporate credit rating to "BB+" from "BBB-". S&P explained that the downgrade was based on weak global steelmaking and a conservative estimate of the country risk for Russia. Besides, S&P said that NLMK in indirectly exposed to low capacity utilization globally, especially in Europe. NLMK stated that the global steel market is currently experiencing a difficult time, which will impact the outlook for the sector. Nevertheless, since the market has remained weak for over twelve months, it may be a catalyst for the recovery after closure of certain inefficient production facilities.
Source:
http://www.yieh.com/2.2.01.01stainlesssteelnews.aspx?no=65108&division=A6
