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The level of protracted payments in the steel sector is high due to fierce competition, persistent pressure on margins and risky trading conditions.

Payment Practices Barometer for the Americas (NAFTA and Brazil) shows that 93% of respondents reported late payment from B2B customers over the past year.

In line with the survey average, 91.4% of respondents in Brazil (95.0% in 2015) reported late payment of invoices from B2B customers over the last 12 months.

While the economy is expected to slow down after a robust 4.6% in 2015, the forecast GDP growth rates of 2.5% in 2016 and 2.7% in 2017 are still solid.

Hungary´s economic growth is expected to rebound in 2017, after a slowdown in 2016, but the high level of external debt remains a major weakness.

Despite further growth, Poland is susceptible to a potential end of the eurozone recovery. Adverse economic policies could dampen investor sentiment.

The economic contraction continues in 2016, as investments and private consumption contract further. Only in 2017 a very modest rebound is expected.

Political risks have sharply increased, which could result in economic repercussions. Higher credit risks in the corporate sector are a major issue.

Looking at Russia, Atradius finds that oil price hardly matters for country risk.

The sector benefits from a robust performance of the Czech economy, but producers dependent on energy/mining and power engineering face difficulties.