Steel demand seen rising 7.5 - 8% this fiscal: Analysts

Mumbai, May 20: Despite an uncertain global economic environment and a slowdown in the domestic economy, steel demand is likely to clock a 7.5 - 8 per cent growth in the current financial year, analysts and officials say.
“We expect steel demand to be around 7.5 per cent in line with the expected GDP growth,” JSW Steel director for commercial and marketing Mr Jayant Acharya told PTI.
The domestic demand for the alloy has been growing at near double-digits in the recent past, prompting companies to expand capacity.
It has also attracted foreign steel makers like ArcelorMittal and Posco to set up units here, the analysts said.
“Demand will be in the range of 8-10 per cent in the current financial year on the back of an expected massive investment in the infrastructure sector,” Karvy Comtrade analyst Mr Sumit Mukherjee said.
The country, which has nearly 80 mt per annum of installed capacity, will be among the emerging economies to drive demand of steel globally this fiscal, according to Tata Steel.
“We expect global steel consumption to improve this fiscal,” Tata Steel Chief Financial Officer Mr Koushik Chatterjee said, adding this will be driven mostly by demand in India and China.
Angel Broking’s senior analyst Mr Bhavesh Chauvan said the demand would be around 8 per cent this fiscal despite the headwinds faced by the domestic economy.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line