사진 확대
Global steel demand is expected to return to growth next year, but China’s structural weakness in demand is likely to pose a new burden for South Korea’s steel industry. If steel products that cannot be absorbed by China’s domestic market flow into overseas markets, they could intensify price competition in the global steel market.
On the 14th, the World Steel Association (worldsteel; WSA) forecast global steel demand at 1.722 billion tonnes this year, 2 million tonnes below its forecast of 1.724 billion tonnes in April. This year’s demand, which had been projected at the time to grow by 0.3%, was revised to remain essentially at last year’s level. The association also cut its forecast for global steel demand next year by 10 million tonnes, from 1.762 billion to 1.752 billion tonnes. It lowered the projected growth rate from 2.2% to 1.7%. The recovery in domestic steel demand is also expected to be slow. Steel demand, which plunged last year, is forecast to rise by 1.8% this year and 1.3% next year.
China is the reason the recovery in global steel demand is slower than expected. The association forecast that Chinese steel demand would fall by 2.0% year on year this year and decline by a further 1.0% next year. Its analysis is that the property market downturn is dragging on, while infrastructure investment, which had been expected to support demand, is also sluggish. The concern is that China’s domestic slowdown could affect the global steel market as well. If Chinese steelmakers redirect overseas the volumes they cannot absorb at home, downward pressure on prices could intensify in major steel markets, including those in East Asia.
In response, POSCO is accelerating efforts to build a local production base in India. This past April, it signed a joint investment agreement with Indian steelmaker JSW Steel and is pursuing plans to build an integrated steelworks in Odisha with annual capacity of 6 million tonnes. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake and are targeting completion in 2031. U.S. steel demand, where Hyundai Steel Company is entering the market, is expected to grow by 2.0% this year and about 1.5% next year.
[Reporter Ahn Byung-jun]
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
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Hyundai Steel Company
steel market
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