Eurofer forecasts that apparent steel consumption in the EU will decrease by 3% in 2023, marking the fourth annual recession in the last five years. This will be lower than the decrease in 2022, but paints a more unfavourable picture than previous forecasts.
For 2024, Eurofer predicts that steel demand will recover faster than previously forecast. Demand is expected to increase by 6.2%, which points to a more favourable outlook, but will still see a slight slowdown compared to previous forecasts.
Eurofer also assessed the situation in the main steel-using industries. In the first quarter of 2023, the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors showed a positive trend. However, the construction sector is expected to experience stagnation due to increasing construction material prices, labour shortages and the impact of tightening monetary policy on housing demand.
Total output in steel-using industries is expected to increase by 1.3 per cent in 2023, revised up from 0.3 per cent in the previous report. A slowdown of 0.4 per cent is forecast for 2024.
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