According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japanese steel demand is expected to reach 23.9 million mt in the first quarter of 2010, increasing by 33.4 percent as compared to Q1 2009.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2010, Japanese raw steel demand will increase by 51.9 percent year on year, reaching 26.72 million mt. The steel demand is forseen to rise by 2.2 percent beginning from the last quarter of 2009, when the exports to South Korea, China and Asian nations are expectected to increase and the domestic demand to improve for automobile and manufacturers while the domestic construction demand decline.
METI estimates that Japanese raw steel output would decline slightly in the last quarter of this year due to lower construction demand and lower semi finished steel export while the raw steel output increased in every quarter since the second quarter 2009.