‘India to see healthy growth in steel demand at 8.6%’

New Delhi The demand for steel in India is expected to register a ‘healthy growth’ of 8.6 per cent against the overall global rise of 1.8 per cent in 2023, worldsteel said on Tuesday. It forecasts that global steel demand will grow 1.8 per cent in 2023 and reach 1,814.5 MT after having contracted by 3.3 per cent in 2022. In 2024, the demand will see an increase of 1.9 per cent to 1,849.1 MT, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said. For India, the global body said, “after a growth of 9.3 per cent in 2022, steel demand is expected to show healthy growth of 8.6 per cent in 2023 and 7.7 per cent in 2024.

“The Indian economy remains stable against the pressure of high interest rate environment, and the steel demand is expected to continue its high growth momentum. Growth in India’s construction sector is driven by government spending on infrastructure and recovery in private investment. Infrastructure investment will also support the capital goods sector growth, worldsteel said in its Short Range Outloo k (SRO). Healthy growth momentum will continue in automotive. The consumer durables sector is the only sector that is underperforming due to higher inflation/interest rates that constrain discretionary spending. However, it will improve in 2024 with festive season spending and progress in the Production Linked Investment (PLI) schemes, it said. Máximo Vedoya, Chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee, said, steel demand has been feeling the impact of high inflation and interest rate environment.