India’s steel usage only indicates slight rise in April-September

India's steel consumption amounted to 33.7 million mt in the first half (April-September) of the Indian fiscal year 2011-12, increasing by 1.8 percent as compared to 33.1 million mt in the same period of the last fiscal year, according to India's Ministry of Steel. Ongoing weak demand in the domestic construction and automobile industries resulted in a slowdown in growth of steel consumption in India in the given period. However, with the end of the rainy season, Indian steel consumption is expected to pick up in the coming period.
 
In the first half of the fiscal year 2011-12, India's total finished steel output reached 34.79 million mt, increasing by 9.3 percent year on year.