Worldsteel: Gloomier outlook for European steel demand

With the debt crisis in the euro zone weighing heavily on the economic activities of the countries in the region, apparent steel use in the EU-27 is expected to decline by 5.6 percent in 2012, said Jürgen Kerkhoff from the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl) who was speaking on October 11 at the 46th annual meeting of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) held in New Delhi.
 
In particular, apparent steel use in Spain and Italy, both of which have been hit harder by the economic recession, is expected to fall by 11.9 percent and 12.6 percent respectively in 2012, stated Mr. Kerkoff who is chairman of the worldsteel economics committee. Even the most resilient European economy, Germany, will experience a decline of 4.7 percent in apparent steel use in 2012, according to worldsteel forecasts.
 
However, said Mr. Kerkhoff, in 2013 the situation is expected to bottom out and steel demand in the European Union member states will recover by 2.4 percent on the basis that the euro zone crisis can be contained.
 
In April this year, worldsteel had predicted a slight decrease of 1.2 percent in European steel demand for 2012 and an increase of 3.3 percent for 2013. However, worldsteel has revised down its expectations due to continued uncertainty arising from the debt crisis in the euro zone.
 
Steel demand in Europe remains at a depressed level and economic growth in the different countries of the region continues to be uneven, according to the worldsteel economics committee.