Kyiv, December 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises are expected in 2014 to cut steel production by 16.8% in comparison with 2013, to 27.2 million tonnes, in 2015 - by 0.7% compared to the forecast figures for this year, to 27 million tonnes.

This forecast was announced by the experts of Ukrpromzovnishekspertyza, namely Director Volodymyr Vlasiuk, Chief Adviser Oleksandr Krainikov, head of the analytics department Pavlo Perkonos, analyst Dmytro Zheltiakov and head of the marketing department Yuriy Dobrovolsky, at the press conference "The balance of the market and prices for steel in 2015" at Interfax-Ukraine.

Perkonos noted that the forecast could be either improved or downgraded because of the events in the east of the country.

Rolled steel prices in 2015 are expected to decline by 5-10%, or by $30-50/tonne.

According to the experts, the volume of the domestic market in 2014 will decrease by 43.7% compared to the year of 2013, from 7.1 million tonnes (in 2013) to about 4 million tonnes in the current year due to the decline in machinery engineering and the situation in the east of the country. In 2015, the volume of consumption under the negative scenario is expected to reach 3.4 million tonnes.