At the 83rd Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Steel Committee meeting held in Paris on September 28-29, the Steel Committee stated that the global economy has recently grown at its fastest pace since 2010, helped by policy support, with the upturn becoming more synchronized across countries and accompanied by employment gains in some regions and a budding recovery in trade growth. Global GDP growth is projected to be around 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.7 percent in 2018 in the September Interim Economic Outlook. However, strong and sustained medium-term global growth is not secured. Risks to the outlook include policy uncertainty, rising vulnerabilities in financial markets, weak wage growth and persisting inequality, and the extent to which growth in the emerging market economies can return towards past norms.
According to the Steel Committee, steel market conditions have improved moderately in 2017 and there are signs of recovery in several markets, with world steel production growing by 4.3 percent during the first half of 2017, when compared to the same period in 2016. With uncertainties surrounding the global economy receding and the investment climate improving, the uptick in steel demand seems more synchronized across regions. Although production is up by 4.3 percent in the first half of 2017, the World Steel Association's preliminary assessment suggests that in 2017 and 2018 actual demand growth for steel will not eliminate concerns about the supply-demand imbalance.
The OECD Steel Committee noted that it is, however, uncertain whether the recovery is sustainable, in light of headwinds related to the slow pace of adjustment of capacity to demand, the challenges for workers, trade friction in international steel markets, and financial vulnerabilities.