Economy

Demand for steel to slow

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-05 10:47

Emerging markets

India will become the largest steel consumer after China and the United States next year, with growth of 8.2 percent in 2010 and 13.6 percent in 2011, the association said.

Related readings:  CISA moves to trim ore imports  Shangang cuts price of its steel products  China steel prices to stay volatile in near term: CISA  Steel industry outlook still hazy

Steel demand in Brazil is forecast to rebound 34.6 percent this year and consumption in the Central and South American regions will likely gain 9.1 percent to a record 47.6 million tons next year, it said.

Steel demand in India is forecast to grow 10 percent in the year ending March 31, helped by demand for automobiles and spending on roads and ports, G.K. Basak, executive secretary of the steel ministry's joint plant committee, said on Sept 6.

Global steel consumption this year is rising faster than the association's April 2009 estimate of 8.4 percent growth on a stronger-than-expected recovery in developed nations after the global financial crisis.

Still, steel demand next year in the US, Europe and Japan is likely to be more than 20 percent lower than 2007 levels, according to the association.

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