According to the short range outlook of the World Steel Association (worldsteel), apparent steel consumption in China is expected to slow to three percent in 2014 amounting to 721.2 million mt, after growth of 6.1 percent in 2013 on the back of government infrastructure investment. This latest forecast is unchanged from the earlier forecast made in October 2013. In 2015, steel demand growth in China is expected to slow further to 2.7 percent.
On the other hand, in India, steel demand is expected to grow by 3.3 percent to 76.2 million mt in 2014, following 1.8 percent growth in 2013, due to an improved outlook for the construction and manufacturing sectors, even though this will be constrained by high inflation and structural problems.
Meanwhile, after a two percent increase in 2013 because of the moderate GDP recovery, apparent steel use in Japan is expected to contract by one percent to 64.6 million mt in 2014, due to the consumption tax hike affecting the construction and automotive sectors negatively. In 2015, steel demand in Japan is expected to increase by 0.5 percent.