Indian domestic steel demand is expected to rise by 7-8 percent in the fiscal year 2023-24, after logging a strong double-digit growth of 11.3 percent in the current fiscal closing on March 31, 2023, a steel sector report of rating agency ICRA said on Thursday, March 23.
It stated that steel consumption remained robust through the current fiscal year largely riding on the government push in relation to the infrastructure sector.
With central government capital expenditure expected to increase by 37 percent in 2023-24 over the previous fiscal year, ICRA has revised upward domestic steel demand growth to 7-8 percent from the 6-7 percent forecast earlier.
“While private sector investments have been generally muted, the government’s capex drive had helped maintain the steel industry’s capacity utilization rate at 79 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23. With steel consumption expected to grow at a high single digit in the next fiscal year, we expect the industry capacity utilization rate to improve to 80 percent despite the commissioning of new expansion capacities,” the report said.