The main events by the morning: May 22

• The metallurgical industry is facing a crisis: Russian steel is expected to fall in price by 11% in 2025. According to experts, the weighted average price of rolled steel will be $543 per ton, while last year it was at $608. Steel production shows a decline: in the period from January to April, rolled products decreased by 6% and amounted to 20 million tons, while total smelting fell by 5%, reaching 23 million tons. The main reasons for this are a drop in domestic demand (-13% in the first quarter of 2025), a high key interest rate and an excess of production capacity in the country.

• The next meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations is scheduled for mid-June in the Vatican. During a conversation with European leaders on May 18, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Keith Kellogg to participate in the talks.

• Israel is preparing for possible attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities if negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail. According to American intelligence, there is a possibility that these negotiations will be disrupted. At the same time, a few days ago, Israel was confident that a nuclear deal was about to be reached. The Israeli army is currently conducting exercises and other preparations for a potential strike on Iran.

• The European Union imposed sanctions against Novatek's Arctic LNG project for the first time. Three tankers of a Japanese company that exported gas from this project were blacklisted. Three ships of the Japanese LNG tanker operator Mitsui OSK Lines were among the nearly 200 vessels of the shadow fleet included in the 17th package of sanctions.

• The European Union intends to introduce protective duties on Russian and Belarusian fertilizers. This decision was supported by the majority of members of the European Parliament. Tariffs will be introduced in stages over three years, starting in July this year. Last year, the EU imported 6.2 million tons of fertilizers from Russia, which is a quarter of the total imports. European farmers have expressed concern that the new restrictions could jeopardize their activities.