S. Africa's steel demand expected to increase

The South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI) has disclosed that the country's domestic carbon steel sales rose 23.9 percent year on year to around 2.6 million tons in the first six months of 2006. South Africa's domestic steel demand is expected to rise to a record 5.5 million tons this year as compared to 4.5 million tons last year. The SAISI reported that, in the first six months of the year, sales of carbon-steel flat products rose 24.2 percent while sales of profile products increased 23.6 percent.