According to the Japanese Ministry of Trade (METI), Japanese demand for crude steel in the second quarter of the current year is expected to total 23.2 million mt, declining by 4.7 percent from the previous quarter, with an expected decrease of 3.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014.
In the second quarter,
Japan's steel exports are expected to decrease from the previous quarter due to the decrease in energy-related demand. On year-on-year basis, exports of ordinary steel will remain flat due to the effects of the excess supply of steel persisting in Asia. Exports of special steel, which were at a high level in terms of energy-related exports for the same period of the previous year, will show a decrease.
Meanwhile, of the total demand in the second quarter this year, 18.53 million mt is expected to be for ordinary steel, decreasing by 2.1 percent year on year and down 4.6 percent from the estimated data for the previous quarter, while 4.68 million mt of demand is expected to be for special steel, down 10 percent year on year and falling 4.9 percent from the estimated data for the first quarter this year.