The global steel industry is expected to grow

Despite falling Chinese demand and the fact that low prices for the metal are a burden on producers, the global steel industry is expected to see growth this year.

Global crude steel production will grow by 0.15 percent in 2016, according to a study by the Financial Times. The U.S. and Europe offset the second consecutive year of production contraction in China. Being responsible for almost half of the total steel production.

Any revival in a sector seen as an indicator of global economic health will come after a difficult year. In which the first annual decline in production since 2009 was recorded. Production fell 2.8 percent in 2015, according to the World Steel Association.

However, many of the study participants (industry analysts) predicted a continuation of the harsh market conditions. This has pushed many manufacturers to record losses.

Four of the world’s largest manufacturers – ArcelorMittal, US Steel, SSAB (Sweden) and Tata Steel (India) – either had their credit ratings downgraded or put in a negative outlook by Standard & Poor’s in November, while Posco (South Korea) recently posted its first year at a loss.

As China’s output is expected to fall by 2.2 percent, two-thirds of analysts who responded to the survey expected China’s exports to remain at the same level or even fall in 2016.

The U.S. global steel industry is expected to swing. Between the 3 percent growth expected for this and the 10.5 percent contraction in 2015. For the E.U., the forecast is more modest, at 0.9 percent.

Article source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76cb4804-c812-11e5-be0b-b7ece4e953a0.html#axzz3z0EU4OBW