Demand for steel in South Korea is expected to see a year-on-year decline in the fourth quarter of this year, while it seems difficult for seasonal factors to boost demand in the last quarter, as stated by POSRI, the research institute of South Korean steelmaker POSCO.
In its recent outlook for the demand and supply of steel products in South Korea in the fourth quarter of this year, POSRI has forecast that demand for steel will falter in the last quarter of this year, unlike its earlier outlook, and that such a weak trend of demand is likely to continue into the first half of 2012.
Taking into consideration various leading composite indexes that forecast future demand for steel products six months in advance, POSRI stated that it seems difficult to expect any improvement of the market conditions until the first half of next year. There are no positive signs of a recovery in the five major leading indexes for domestic steel consuming industries, if the automotive industry index is excluded. The pace of growth of demand in the steel industry is expected to slow down in the first half of next year compared with the same period of this year, according to POSRI.