
The World Steel Association cut its forecast for global steel demand on 14 October 2024, saying demand would fall 0.9 percent this year to 1,751 million tonnes before rebounding 1.2 percent in 2025 to 1,772 million tonnes. The revision was a sharp downgrade from its April outlook, which had predicted 1.7 percent growth in 2024 to 1,793 million tonnes, and it marked a third consecutive year of declining demand. The association blamed weakness in manufacturing and construction, aggressive monetary tightening and escalating geopolitical uncertainty, with China's property downturn weighing most heavily. Demand outside China was still expected to recover, with India remaining the strongest growth driver, but the recovery was pushed back into 2025. The downgrade followed a run of weak monthly production figures, with global output falling year on year in July, August and September.
Source: SteelOrbis — https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/worldsteel-revises-down-global-steel-demand-outlook-for-2024-expects-rebound-for-2025-1361457.htm
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).
