Posted on 27 Jun 2023
The impact of China’s post-Covid reopening on steel demand has been limited by sluggish real estate sector activity in the country, while China’s 2024 demand will be flat due to the shift to consumption-led growth and an ageing population. So said worldsteel data management head Adam Szewczyk at Eurometal’s Central Europe regional meeting in Krakow last week.
Infrastructure projects initiated in 2022 should however support 2% Chinese demand growth in 2023. The country is meanwhile showing big progress in electric vehicle production, Szewczyk added at the event attended by Kallanish.
The global automotive industry, in general, continues to recover amid easing supply chain bottlenecks. However, this could this be undermined by weak demand due to high interest rates, which are affecting all capital goods. The construction sector, especially residential construction, is meanwhile facing pressure from rising inflation and rising costs.
The EU steel industry continues to feel the effects of the Ukraine war, high interest rates and monetary tightening in 2023, although war and supply chain disruption impact should dissipate throughout the year, Szewczyk said. The region has avoided recession but industrial activity is suffering from the energy crisis. This has particularly been seen in Germany, while in Italy the construction boom has ended and manufacturing activity is sluggish.
European demand should nevertheless rebound by over 5% in 2024.
Going forward, EU economies will need to find ways to accommodate new technological and socio-economic challenges, Szewczyk concluded.
Source:Kallanish
