China’s steel demand in 2020 is expected to amount to 890 million mt, up two percent year on year, as forecast by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) at its members’ conference on January 11. The World Steel Association (WSA) has previously forecast a one percent increase year on year in Chinese steel demand in 2020.
According to the CISA, China’s steel demand in 2019 amounted to 875 million mt, up six percent year on year. However, due to the possible slowdown of growth in the real estate industry, and the possible negative growth in other industries, e.g. the automobile, shipbuilding, containers and machinery industries, demand for steel in China will record slow growth in 2020, though at the same time the CISA stated that investments in infrastructure construction will likely speed up in the given year.
Moreover, the CISA said that high capacity utilization rates, strong iron ore prices and strong pressure from environmental protection measures will likely continue in 2020.