International credit rating agency Fitch Solutions’ BMI Country Risk and Industry Research unit has revised down its average global steel price forecast for 2024 to $660/mt from $770/mt, since domestic demand in China is expected to decline amid the sluggishness in its real estate industry, according to media reports.
Fitch noted that, due to a slowing economy, demand and supply is still preventing the global steel industry from seeing annual growth. In particular, while the bearishness in the global industrial and economic outlook is forecast to affect steel supply, the sluggishness in the global manufacturing sector, which is impacting growth in major markets, is hampering demand.
Despite these factors, the agency expects that global steel production will increase by 1.2 percent and that robust demand from India will support steel consumption in the current year.
