In the second half of August 2020, the demand for the supply of graphite electrode shipped in October and November appeared, but given the uncertainty of the steel market prospects, there were still few transactions. The electrode supply in the summer season in Russia is still weak. 

In July, Russia's steel output increased slightly to 5.89 million tons, and exports supported the increase in output. At the same time, the output of electrical steel has reached the highest level this year, and transactions are still decreasing.

Due to the depreciation of the ruble by nearly 6% in August, the profitability of electric arc furnace steel production, especially in export, has increased significantly. In the near future, Russia will consider the issue of scrap export quotas, which creates more attractive conditions for further increasing the utilization rate of electric arc furnaces. The current utilization rate of the electric arc furnace in Russia is about 50%.