Global rating agency Moody’s while changing the outlook for Asian steel industry to negative from stable has projected an increase in demand for steel in India due to strong economic growth. Moody’s said “the country's relatively strong economic growth and the government's plan to revive infrastructure spending and increased steel consumption in the manufacturing sector will boost the country's steel demand”.
The rating agency expects India to post mid single digit steel demand growth up from 2.2 % in 2014. It has further stated that in order to capture this growth India’s largest steel manufacturers SAIL, Tata Steel and JSW Steel will be adding production capacity in the next one to two years. Further it projected that owing to captive iron ore supplies and due to rise in domestic demand, the profitability of the steel companies such as Tata steel, JSW steel will remain highest in the region. The first sales of steel from Tata Steel’s new plant at Odisha will come on stream in the spring of 2015, which will add 30 per cent more capacity to its highly profitable operations. According to the latest data by the Joint Plant Committee under the Steel Ministry, India’s steel consumption grew 7.1% to 20.10 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2015.16, helped by cheaper imports and increased production of saleable steel.
Talking about China, Moody’s expects the largest producer for steel situation to worsen further due to steady production and slowing demand. Chinese steelmakers, who account 70% for Asian steel demand, will be affected due to weakening trends in real estate, infrastructure and manufacturing. Consequently, the demand of steel from South Asia and India is likely to increase.
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